of Oz and with her are Elephant, Lisa, Hootsey, Tweaty and Nibbles from
the Lunechien Forest of Oz. I have told them of our plight, and they
have come to try and help."

"And not a moment too soon," said President Schnozzle. "The Stinkfoots
have sent me another letter. This time, they are threatening to burn
down our village if we do not surrender immediately, I hope that your
small army is prepared to stand up to them."

"I did not come to fight," said Ozma with a firmness that surprised even
her. "I want to see the two sides come to an arrangement. If that is not
possible, we may then have to resort to stronger measures."

"I'm afraid that the Stinkfoots are beyond reasoning," sighed President
Schnozzle. "The only recourse we have is to fight fire with fire."

Ozma could see that the Sniffer President was not going to deviate from
his present frame of mind without a struggle. "I do understand your
position and I sympathize with your feelings," she said. "However,
before anyone does anything rash, I wish to speak to President McFoot."

"Then I suggest that you hold your nose," replied Schnozzle. "Otherwise,
you'll be overwhelmed by the stench and probably pass out."

"I'll take that chance," said the little Queen. "Just give me an hour to
talk to Mr. McFoot before you start any uprising."

"I will give you all the time you want," replied the Sniffer President.
"At least, from my side. But if those stinkers start anything, you'd
better believe that I will not sit doggo and let them destroy our
homes."

"Fair enough," said Ozma. She then followed Probisquous to the edge of
the Stinkfoot Nation. "I can't take you any further," he said. "My eyes
are already starting to water. I hope you can handle the stinkiness from
this point onward. It gets worse the closer you come to those guys."

Ozma thanked him and went on her way. Indeed, the smell was a potent
one. She could see why it would ward off any potential attackers. She
tried to hold her breath, but that was not something she could do
indefinitely. She tried holding her nose and breathing with her mouth,
but that was hardly a dignified pose for the Queen of all Oz. When the
stench became absolutely unbearable, she found herself face to face with
a little boy who sported the tiniest nose she could have imagined. It
was about the same size as that of a ladybug. His feet, on the other
hand, were enormous. "Who are you?" asked the lad.

"I amb Queen Ozba of Oz," she said with some difficulty. "I amb here to
visit with President Stinky McFoot of the Stinkfoot Nation."

"I thought your nose was too small to make you a Sniffer," he said. "But
it is sure a lot bigger than any Stinkfoot's. Hey, why are you holding
it like that?"

"I'mb afraid that I'mb having a hard time dealing with the sbell of the
stinkweeds," she explained, not wanting to hurt the boy's feelings by
mentioning his feet, which Ozma felt certain were the real source of the
offensive smell. She believed that it would be better to avoid any
statement that might be taken as a gesture of insult.

"The stinkweeds?" replied the boy. "But they are delicious. They are our
primary food."

This was not going very well, and the little Queen was already feeling
nauseated by the stench. She would not be able to take much time
explaining her situation before she became physically ill. This
proposed a problem, as she had never known illness to exist in Oz.
Still, it was a matter that would require a bit of research. "I bust see
your President," she sniffled uneasily. "Can you take be to himb?"

"Of course," said the boy simply, taking a handful of the stinkweeds and
eating it. "I can take you to his mansion, anyway. I don't know if he'll
want to talk. He is preparing to fight the Sniffers for control of the
fertile lands, and is very busy with that right now."

"That's just the thing," said Ozma. "I need to discuss that batter with
himb."

"Well," said the boy, "you are the Queen. Follow me."

Ozma followed the lad as quickly as she could under the circumstances.
The smell only grew more pungent with each step. It was overpowering.
But she knew that she had to help the two rivals to come to an
arrangement quickly, as the Forest Monster could be doing nearly
anything at this point, and she was losing valuable time. She wished
that she had sent the forest animals on to speak to the Saber-Toothed
Light Bulbs without her, but she knew in her heart that such an act
might well have endangered her new friends. If she were not with the
animals, the Light Bulbs might well have attacked them. No, this was all
she could do. She only hoped that she had not chosen the wrong skirmish
to settle first.

When she came to the mansion of President Stinky McFoot, she saw that it
was expansive. It was a good sixteen acres wide, and had more rooms than
any one man could possibly make use of. She hurriedly knocked on the
heavy oak door.

Her knock was answered by a Stinkfoot who was dressed as a butler.
"Yes?" he said to her.

"I amb Queen Ozba of Oz," she explained. "I amb here to speak to the
President."

"Queen Ozba of Oz?" replied the butler. "But you are just a child. How
can you be the queen of anything? Except possibly a toy box."

"I amb Queen Ozba!" she said. "I amb serious! I bean it!"

"Okay," chuckled the Stinkfoot. "I'll play along for a moment. If you
are the Queen of Oz, what is it you wish to speak to President McFoot
about?"

"He is planning a war with the Sniffer Nation," said the Queen. "I want
to try to find a better way for your people to solve your differences."

"That is very touching," laughed the butler. "But if you were really the
Queen of Oz, you would surely know that the matter is already settled.
The Sniffer-snuffers will have to let us have the land we need to
survive, and that is all there is to it. Now, go home little girl. We
have a lot to attend to, and there really isn't any time for your
games."

"But I amb really the Queen!" objected she.

"Yes," said the butler, "and I am Charles Dickens. My wife is the Queen
of England. Now do run along." He shut the door before Ozma had a chance
to say anything more.

"This is not going at all as I planned," sighed Ozma. But the pungent
odor was already more than she could take, and she knew that she must
get to some fresh air immediately if she was to be of any practical use
to either the Sniffers or the denizens of the Lunechien Forest.
Dejectedly, she returned to the Sniffer Nation. She was gasping for air
by the time she arrived there, and so she breathed in several lungfuls
of the cleaner, purer stuff. It was a treat that she was grateful for.

"So what did Stinky McStink have to say?" President Schnozzle asked Ozma
upon her return.

"I did not get in to see Mr. McFoot," said Ozma sourly. "But I sure did
get a noseful of your immediate problem."

"Our immediate problem is the fact that a bunch of people with
stinky-feet are planning to attack and burn our village to the ground. I
am sorry, Your Majesty, but we are left with no other recourse but to go
to war with them and destroy them all before they do it to us. Surely
you can see that they are unreasonable and unkind and un-un--well, a
bunch of other words that start with 'un.' We can't allow them to
UN-ify us if we can help it, and we Sniffers are a proud people who will
not give in without a fight!"

"President Schnozzle," sighed Ozma. "I am not trying to belittle you or
your pride. I just don't think that resorting to violence is the way to
deal with any situation. It only leads to misery for both sides."

"Not if we win," replied the President.

"In times of war," said Lisa, "there are no winners." The hoot-owl had
stayed back with the four Lunechien animals at the Sniffer President's
modest home, and was also a little disappointed at Ozma's failure to
speak to the Stinkfoot leader. So much had been riding on this meeting.

But Ozma had not gotten in to see him, and the simple fact remained that
they were no closer to a solution than they had been before.

"Maybe we need those Saber-Toothed Light Bulbs right here," suggested
Nibbles. "Then the Stinkfoots would be too scared to start a fight."

"I doubt it," reasoned President Schnozzle. "I'm not even sure that any
Saber-Toothed Light Bulbs could handle the stinky smell of those
buzzards."

"Maybe not," said Hootsey. "But it is an idea. What if we were to scare
the Stinkfoots back into their own territory?"

"That may be possible," said Ozma. "It looked to me like they had no
problem of overpopulation. It was really just their desire to grow more
stinkweeds, and their incapability to do so in their soil."

"That's right!" said Lisa. "But no soil can go indefinitely growing the
same crop. Anyone who lives in the forest knows that! And even the
Munchkin farmers rotate their crops to keep their soil in balance."

"Rotate it?" scoffed the Sniffer President. "You mean like a phonograph
record on a turntable?"

"No," replied Lisa. "I mean that if, say, a farmer plants carrots in his
fields this year, he will plant something totally different next year.
This way, the nutrients in the soil stay in balance and can be used to
raise more carrots some other year. It's really very simple. It's kind
of like replenishing with one crop what was diminutized by another."

"So you think that, if the Stinkfoots were to grow carrots instead of
stinkweeds for a year, they could go back to stinkweeds next year?" said
the President uncertainly.

"I'd say more than likely," agreed Lisa.

"But," put in Hootsey, "the Stinkfoots can't live without their
stinkweed. Or they refuse to, in any event"

"Maybe we have a solution," grinned Ozma.

"But we don't," said Hootsey. "They will refuse to give up their
stinkweeds. You know it's true."

"Not if they can have them," said Ozma. "Listen, President Schnozzle.
What would you think of letting the Stinkfoots use your land to grow
their food here this year, while the Sniffer farmers use the Stinkfoot
Nation to grow anything that they want to eat? You can simply switch
territories every year, and the rotation of crops will keep both of your
soils fertile."

The Sniffer President sat down in a wooden chair. He was obviously deep
in thought. "You know," he said after a time, "I think you have
something there. If we can only state this plan to the Stinkfoots, I'm
sure it would work. I am beginning to recall that even our own farmers
have spoken about this rotation of crops on at least one occasion. And
I'd bet that the stinkweeds would have made the soil over there ideal
for our dietary staples!"

"More than likely!" said Lisa wisely.

"This is all very nice," said Elephant. "But how are we to propose this
idea to a people who is as unwilling to listen as a deaf tree-stump?"

"We have got to gain an audience with President McIdiot--I mean,
President McFoot. I suppose it does me no good to make fun of his
foolishness."

"Not foolishness," said Nibbles. "Just lack of education. I didn't know
until you guys just said so that rotation of crops was a good idea. Mr.
McFoot just doesn't know about farming. He may be a very very wise man
in a lot of other subjects."

"I think you're right," agreed President Schnozzle. "And I am sorry that
I reacted so harshly to his actions, which I can now see that he did out
of true concern and love for his subjects."

"In any situation," said Lisa, "it is always best to act, rather than to
re-act. It makes you look a lot brighter."

"I wholeheartedly agree," said Elephant. "However, we still have to
figure out a way to get McFoot into a position to speak to us."

"Yes," said Ozma, "that is true. If only we could lure him into a
neutral place with a strong downwind, then we could ..."

The little Queen's words were cut off as a sickening stench suddenly
blew in from the open window. A booming voice cried out, "That is the
home of Schtupidface Schnozzle! Torch the place!"

Schnozzle ran to the window and saw President McFoot in his military
regalia, and he was backed up by several dozen Stinkfoots carrying
torches.

"Oh, no!" moaned the Sniffer President. "We are too late!"

The entire party hurried out the door, but were too late to stop the
offensive army from setting fire to the home of President Schnozzle.

"My home!" cried he. "My books! My teddy bear! My original Rembrandt!"

"Halt!" cried Ozma. "I am your Queen!"

"It's that silly little girl I told you about, Master," said a Stinkfoot
that Ozma recognized as the man who had answered the door. "Ignore the
little scamp and let's get on with our revolution!"

"Wait a minute!" shuddered President McFoot. "I have seen pictures of
the Queen of Oz in the newspapers. The place no longer is run by that
Scarecrow man. I think this child is telling the truth!"

The Stinkfoot soldiers suddenly stood at attention and saluted Ozma.

"Your Majesty," spoke the Stinkfoot President, "I am sorry to inform you
that there is a war on. We have need of something that these Sniffers
are not allowing us to have. Our survival depends on their
annihilation."

"No," spoke Ozma. "It does not. My dear friends from the Lunechien
Forest have determined the problems with your crops, and we have come to
a solution." She quickly outlined the plan to rotate crops and
territory.

"But the silly Sniff-heads have such a modest capitol building," sniffed
President McFoot. "I would not want to live in that little old shack,
not even for a day!"

"In case you've forgotten," said Elephant, "your troops have just burned
up that little shack. I suggest that you put them to work rebuilding it
in such a way that it will be pleasing to you both."

"If I go along with this idea," said the Stinkfoot leader, "will
Schnozface do the same?"

"I have already agreed to it," said President Schnozzle. "Though I must
add that the whole place be fumigated before we trade back. If you don't
bind, I'mb starting to feel a little queasy."

With the situation settled, Ozma felt very pleased that there had been
no war. Still, there was the other matter to contend with. There may
still have to be a war to defeat the Forest Monster that was terrorizing
the Lunechien Forest. Of course, Ozma would have preferred that it be
settled as well as this situation had been, but this Monster was
obviously not going to be ready to listen to reason for at least a
jillion years. By that time, there may be no one left in Oz to stop him.




CHAPTER 9

ONWARD TOWARD THE SABER-TOOTHED LIGHT BULBS


The Sniffers and Stinkfoots agreed to help in the Lunechien Forest
should their services be needed to help stop the devastation brought
about by the spider-monster. President Schnozzle handed Ozma a small
perfume bottle that, when opened, would release a perfume that could be
smelled only by a Sniffer, and would reach the distance from the forest
in only a matter of minutes. Ozma pocketed the little bottle and thanked
the Sniffer and Stinkfoot Presidents. Then Ozma and the party of five
was on its way to the land of the Saber-Toothed Light Bulbs.

"How far is it from here?" asked Elephant, who was still carrying the
others on his broad back.

"Well," said Hootsey, "it isn't exactly close. We will have to travel
through some fairly rough territory to get to the Light Bulbs. But I'm
sure our pachyderm is up to it, if anyone is. And we do have our new
Queen along as well. I really don't think we'll have too many problems."

However, unbeknownst to the little owl, problems were exactly what lay
ahead of them. The elephant walked on for a few miles without incident,
but then came upon a marshy area. "I don't remember this place," said
Hootsey with disdain.

The marshy area was barren of all trees. Stretched out before them lay
what seemed to be miles of reeds surrounding patches of dirty looking
water with steam rising to form a veritable fog. The whole area looked
very formidable and quite scary.

"I don't like this a bit," Elephant remarked, with a concerned
expression on his face. "Who knows what's laying in wait under that
water? And it doesn't look as if we could get very far without walking
through it."

"And who knows how deep the water is?" Tweaty said. "It could be two
feet or twenty; maybe even some of the solid ground is really
quicksand!"

Just then a loud twittering sound was heard; soft at first but then
increasing in volume to totally surround the little group. Then heads
appeared above the reeds to signify the source of the twittering. The
heads were square; powdery white; and with round eyes like you might see
on a stuffed toy--except the expression on the square faces was anything
but cute. One rather large creature stood up to reveal a body of the
same substance. His whole body looked as if it was composed of giant
marshmallows, including his arms and legs.

"_I suppose_," he shouted in a booming voice that sounded as if it were
coming out of the bottom of a barrel. "I suppose you people think you
are going to traverse our lands."

"Not really," answered Elephant.

"Oh, how silly of me. Of course you are just here for a picnic,"
responded the creature with a sneer. "I should have realized. Quick!
Grab 'em, boys!"

The little band was immediately surrounded by hundreds of the creatures
who threw fishing nets over them, then rolled out wooden cages on
wheels.

After everyone was confined in the cages, the leader stepped forward to
address them again.

"Big mistake. Big mistake you made coming here. Not one trespasser has
ever set foot on our land and lived to tell the tale. You see, we are
the Keepers of the Crocodiles who live in these marshes and swamps. And
in return for keeping them well fed, they have agreed not to eat us and
to allow us to coexist with them in these waters. The substance of our
bodies is a sweet marshmallow material and we would be prey to all kinds
of creatures if we had to depart these lands. We were made of the same
material you are at one time, but we made the mistake of crossing swords
with a Wicked Witch and in a fit of anger, before you could say 'Jacky
Robinson,' she changed us into marshmallows. So here we are, and here
you are, just in time to feed a bunch of hungry crocodiles. Which is too
bad, really, but that's life--death sooner or later. And in your case,
it's sooner."

Elephant and Nibbles and Tweaty and Hootsey and Ozma and Lisa all looked
at each other with despair and foreboding.

"Look," said Elephant to the leader of the marshmallow people. "I am a
huge animal. My body will keep those crocodiles fed for weeks. While
Tweaty here, and Hootsey and Lisa, are tiny creatures. The crocodiles
would not even taste them. Why don't you let them go?"

"Hmmmm," murmured the marshmallow leader. "You have a point there. In
fact, the crocodiles could get quite annoyed with us for feeding them
such tiny morsels. Okay. We'll let them go. But what about her?" he
said, pointing to Ozma. "She would be quite a delicacy."

"Delicacy?" echoed Ozma. "I am not a delicacy. I am Ozma, Queen of Oz!"

The marshmallow man looked at the child and giggled. "You are the Queen
of something? Yeah, right! And I suppose that next you're going to tell
me that mortal men will one day be able to travel to the moon and back.
Ha! That's a laugh!"

"But it's true!" argued Elephant. "Ozma is the ruler of Oz."

"Indeed," added Lisa. "I'll admit, I was also a little shaken when I
first learned that the Queen of Oz was a little girl. But you must
understand that Ozma is of Fairy descent. She is not like a mortal child
at all. She has special abilities and powers that..."

[Illustration: Elephant and others in Cages]

"Silence!" shouted the marshmallow man. "I am not interested in hearing
your lies! This child is simply a tender and mouthwatering human
delicacy for the crocodiles to eat! That is all!" He looked at Ozma and
laughed. "Fairy descent? This is not a Fairy! I know about these things!
Fairies are tiny little critters with wings like those on one of our
dragonflies. This is just a human child. A perfectly ordinary human
child!"

Ozma looked at him indignantly, but she said nothing more. She knew that
it would be hard to convince anyone of her origin without some sort of
proof. And, indeed, what would serve as sufficient proof to convince
this Doubting Thomas? She knew all too well that, throughout history,
skeptics have always been known to cling to what they thought to be
truth, even when it was a foolish belief that they were clinging to.
Indeed, mortals in America had placed a great deal of faith in a
substance called radium. A highly radioactive and dangerous substance,
radium was being treated as a miracle medicine that had been hailed as a
cure-all for anything! This marshmallow man was every bit as
small-minded as the mortal men. If she were going to prove her position
and power, she would have to break through the imaginary wall that he
had built up in his mind concerning the proper look of Queens and
Fairies.

"My good man," she said in her most dignified voice, "I can understand
why you might assume what you do. It is true that I look more like a
little girl than the ruler of a vast country like Oz. And it is true
that some Fairy groups can be described as you have just suggested.
However, it is also true that there are different kinds of Fairies, just
as there are different kinds of marshmallows. The Fairy Queen Lurliné
does not have wings, and she looks quite human, too. But if it is so
important to you, I can probably meet with your needs in a satisfactory
manner." She put her fingers to her temples and concentrated.

"What are you doing?" asked the marshmallow man in puzzlement. Then:
"Chicanery in Chittenango!" he exclaimed. "You have wings! But you
didn't have them a second or two ago!"

"Nor have I got them now," explained Ozma. "But I have made myself
appear to you as you would have me appear. Because I am a Fairy, I can
make myself look any way I please. But underneath, I am still the same
little girl I have always been." The wings vanished again.

"But how can this be?" shuddered the marshmallow man.

"It is really very simple," explained Ozma. "When I first took the
throne of Oz, I had the same blonde hair that you see me with now. But I
might decide one day to be a brunette." Her hair suddenly changed color
as she spoke. "Or even a redhead." Again, the child's hair changed
color. "Why, if I had a mind to, I could even make it green!" Again, her
hair color changed. "You know, I think I might want to try being a
brunette once in a while. Just for a change, you know. And if ever I
must meet with dignitaries from another country--especially one of those
narrow-minded mortal lands, I think I might want to appear to them as an
adult. But, of course, I like being youthful, so I will not really age.
I will just make myself appear that way on occasion when the situation
calls for it."

The marshmallow man fell to his marshmallow knees. "Forgive me, your
Highness!" he said. "You really are a Fairy! I most humbly apologize for
my mistake. But you must admit, you really did look like a mere human
child. How was I to know?"

"I don't think it should have mattered," said Elephant. "Do you really
imagine that it is ever proper to feed any sentient being to a
crocodile? Even a regular mortal child?"

"You are a wild animal," spoke the marshmallow man. "You should know
better than anyone that such is the way of survival. We do not want the
crocodiles to eat us, but we know that they must eat. I doubt that they
would be satisfied with tofu or falafel burgers, either. These
crocodiles are carnivorous, and they require fresh meat in order to
survive. Would you have them become extinct?"

"He has a point," said Hootsey. "We really can't blame the crocodiles
for their metabolisms. But we can't allow them to eat our Queen,
either!"

"Oh, no," said the marshmallow man. "Now that I know who she is, I have
no intention of feeding her to the crocodiles any more."

"Nor any of my companions," said Ozma in a tone of voice that would not
tolerate any argument. "But you do have a legitimate problem. You are
citizens of Oz, and therefore my subjects. I will not allow any of my
subjects to be threatened by any carnivorous crocodiles."

"Then the crocodiles will not be able to survive," said Lisa sadly.

"But nothing can actually die anywhere in Oz," said Nibbles.

"Then they will grow horribly uncomfortable if they can't eat what
Nature dictates they should," said Lisa. "I, for one, would rather die
than have a constant emptiness in my tummy or lack of energy due to
malnutrition."

"Indeed," agreed Elephant. "To go hungry is a terrible fate. Isn't there
some alternative?"

"Nothing short of allowing the crocodiles to eat you," replied the
marshmallow man.

"Then all is lost," sighed Hootsey. "Our benevolent ruler will have to
decide who will be the recipient of her benevolence. It will have to be
a choice between the carnivorous crocodiles or their natural source of
food. One of the two must suffer."

"How sad," said Lisa. "I had always heard that rulers and queens had a
tough job, but I had always doubted it. On the surface, it looks like
queens get to live in beautiful palaces with servants who meet all of
their needs. And they are allowed to go to bed any time they like, or
eat chocolate ice cream for breakfast if they wish. But now I begin to
understand why their lives are so difficult. I sure wouldn't want to
have to make a decision like that. Basically, you'll be condemning an
entire race to extinction--just like the dodo bird or the
winkledejimpker!"

"Couldn't we use criminals and thieves to feed to the crocodiles?"
suggested Nibbles.

"I will not allow even them to be tortured this way," said Ozma. "Even a
thief deserves a chance to make up for his past misbehaving."

"Then what can we do?" asked the marshmallow man.

"Hey!" said Elephant, suddenly having an idea. "There is a grove of
trees that grows near the Lunechien Forest. Some of the trees have
fruits growing on them. Others have seed pods or alarm clocks or other
such normal things that one always expects to find growing on trees. But
I think there are also a couple of ham and sausage trees there. I'll bet
they would suffice for the crocodiles. Then they wouldn't have to eat
any living creatures in order to satisfy their natural cravings."

"A grand idea!" said the marshmallow man. "I have never heard of such
odd trees as those, but I'm sure the crocodiles will be thrilled to
learn that they no longer have to be hated and feared by their fellow
beings."

"Of course," said Lisa. "No one wants to be feared. And if they are now
able to get their meat without any stalking or struggling, they might
need some other form of exercise to keep from growing fat or sluggish. I
think we should organize some group activities that will allow the
crocodiles and owls to interact together as friends."

"And maybe Pinky and I could arrange a similar thing for us elephants to
get together with them."

"I think the mice would be a little too scared," shuddered Nibbles.

"Not after I have one of those ham trees transplanted in their marsh,"
said Ozma. She turned to the marshmallow man. "Would you be willing to
take charge of that?"

"Of course," he replied. "It will also make my own people live in
greater comfort to know that the crocodiles will never be hungry for
them again. But ... er, just out of curiosity, are there any marshmallow
trees around? Just to be on the safe side, you know."

They all laughed.




CHAPTER 10

ALL ABOUT THE GILLIGOGGS AND THE DROFFS


The Droffs and the Gilligoggs had never understood each other. They were
a different people, really. For example, the Droffs were shaggy-looking
creatures with forms that resembled the Wooly Mammoth. They had short
squat legs like tree trunks; short squat little bodies with arms to
match, and heads that were too large for their bodies with eyes that
were buried beneath long straggly shaggy fur. Their voices had a deep
gruff sound not unlike a cave man might have sounded, and their words
came out in a torrent of grunts that did not vary in tone and that did
not exactly follow the rules of grammar. For example: "Who you?" "What
you name?" "How got you this place?" "Why you here for?" etc. Whereas
the Gilligoggs were quite elegant--even sophisticated--compared to the
Droffs. They were tall and slender, with long delicate fingers that they
waved expressively as they talked. They also had long hair but it was as
soft and sweet smelling as the Droffs' hair was coarse and pungent.
Their faces were feminine looking (even the males) with long curling
eyelashes, delicately chiseled features, full lips, etc. The only
perceptible difference between the males and females was that the males'
voices were a little deeper, and they were a little taller.

Anyway, as you can imagine, two peoples that were so different had very
little love for one another. Why this should be I do not know, except
that people with different appearances seem to distrust each other, even
when there has been no physical aggression between them. Neither group
would willingly mix with the other either socially or even live in the
other's neighborhood. Each race pretty much kept to itself.

I suppose that in a way, the Gilligoggs looked down on the Droffs. They
considered them somehow inferior to themselves. The Droffs were well
aware of this and were deeply resentful. Now if you or I were to try to
analyze the exact reason for this, we might fall short of our goal. We
could say that the Gilligoggs were far more intelligent because their
speech was more sophisticated. But if you took the trouble to get to
know a Droff, you would find that, in spite of their crude manner of
speech, they are, as a whole, equally as intelligent as the Gilligoggs,
except that they express their intelligence in a different way. Another
argument might be that the Droffs were not nearly so sweet smelling in
comparison. Now, this may be true in one way, but in actual fact, the
Droffs had just as high a standard of personal hygiene as the
Gilligoggs. It was just that the Gilligoggs' olfactory senses were
sensitive to the natural scent of the Droffs (just as the Droffs'
olfactory senses were equally sensitive to the natural scent of the
Gilligoggs). And while neither group found the other offensive in this
way, they could detect a difference, albeit on a subconscious level.
Another argument might be that the Droffs had lower social standards
than the Gilligoggs. This argument, too, has to fall by the wayside. For
reasons that we will not go into here, the Droffs had had difficulty in
keeping up with the Joneses, so to speak. Due to circumstances beyond
their control, they had not done quite as well on a socioeconomic scale.
So there you have it. And this was the situation that Elephant and his
pals were confronted with after their excursion with the Marshmallow
people. As they continued on their way to the home of the Saber-Toothed
Light-Bulbs, they hardly expected yet another interruption. But it
happened all the same. A particularly tall and attractive Gilligogg
woman who looked to be about sixteen approached them. She had dark hair
that glistened in the sunlight in a particularly gorgeous manner which
reminded Lisa of fine silk.

"Greetings," said Ozma to the young lady. Even though she was not
anxious to be interrupted again, she was always polite to her people.
She knew that, in order to be a good ruler for the land of Oz, she
should be aware of the individual needs of all of the Ozites.

"Good morrow," came the reply. The lady's voice was like music.
Beautiful music such as is usually reserved only for the Fairies, angels
or gods. So in awe of this lovely lady were our adventurers that only
Ozma found her voice which, though beautiful in its own youthful manner,
did not hold a candle to that of this Gilligogg lady.

"I am Ozma, the Queen of Oz," said the little girl. "My friends and I