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14 - The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - L Frank Baum · Adventure Books Collection

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  Chapter fourteen, The Winged Monkeys. You will remember that there was no road,
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  not even a pathway, between the castle of the Wicked Witch and the
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  Emerald City. When the four travelers went in search of the witch, she
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  had seen them coming, and so sent the winged monkeys to bring them to
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  her. It was much harder to find their way back through the big fields
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  of buttercups and yellow daisies than it was being carried. They knew, of
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  course, they must go straight east, towards the rising sun, and they
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  started off in the right way. But at noon, when the sun was
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  over their heads, they did not know which was east and which was west,
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  and that was the reason they were lost in the great field. They
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  kept on walking, however, and at night the moon came out and shone
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  brightly. So they lay down among the sweet smelling yellow flowers and slept soundly
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  until morning, all but the scarecrow and the tin woodman. The next morning,
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  the sun was behind a cloud, but they started on as if they
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  were quite sure which way they were going. If we walk far enough,
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  said Dorothy, I am sure we shall some time come to some place.
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  But day by day passed away, and they still saw nothing before them,
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  but the scarlet field. The scarecrow began to grumble a bit. We have
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  surely lost our way, he said, and unless we find it again in
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  time to reach the Emerald City, I shall never get my brains nor I
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  a heart, declared the tin woodman. It seems to me that I can
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  scarcely wait till I get to Oz. And you must admit that this is
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  a very long journey, you see, said the cowardly lion with a whimper.
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  I haven't the courage to keep tramping forever without getting anywhere at all.
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  Then Dorothy lost heart. She sat down on the grass and looked at her
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  companions, and they sat down and looked at her. And Toto found that
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  for the first time in his life, he was too tired to chase a
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  butterfly that flew past his head. So he put out his tongue and panted
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  and looked at Dorothy as if to ask what they should do next. Suppose
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  we call the field mice, she suggested, They could probably tell us the
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  way of the Emerald City. To be sure, they could, cried the
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  scarecrow. Why didn't we think of that before? Dorothy blew the little whistle
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  that she had always carried about her neck since the Queen of the Mice had
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  given it to her. In a few minutes, they heard the pattering of
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  tiny feet, and many of the small gray mice came running up to her.
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  Among them was the Queen herself, who asked in a squeaky little voice,
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  what can I do for my friends? We have lost our way,
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  said Dorothy. Can you tell us where the Emerald city is? Certainly,
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  answered the queen, But it is a great way off, for you have
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  had it at your backs all this time. Then she noticed Dorothy's golden cap
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  and said, why don't you use the charm of the cap and call the
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  winged monkeys to you. They will carry you to the city of Oz in
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  less than an hour. I didn't know there was a charm, answered Dorothy
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  in surprise. What is it? It is written inside the golden cap,
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  replied the Queen of the Mice. But if you are going to call the
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  wing monkeys, we must run away, for they are full of mischief and
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  think it great fun to plague us. Won't they hurt me, asked the
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  girl anxiously. Oh no, they must obey the wearer of the cap.
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  Goodbye, and she scampered out of sight, with all the mice hurrying after
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  her. Dorothy looked inside the golden cup and saw some words written upon the
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  lining. These she thought must be the charm, so she read the directions
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  carefully and put the cap upon her head. Epi, peppy cocky, she
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  said, standing on her left foot. What did you say? Asked the
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  scarecrow, who did not know what she was doing. Heilo Hollo Hello.
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  Dorothy went on, standing, this time on her right foot. Hello,
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  replied the tin woodman. Calmly, zizzi zuzi zick, and said Dorothy,
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  who was now standing on both feet. This ended the saying of the charm,
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  and they heard a great chattering and flapping of wings as the band of
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  wing monkeys flew up to them. The king bowed low before Dorothy and asked,
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  what is your command? We wish to go to the Emerald city,
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  said the child, and we have lost our way. We will carry you,
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  replied the king, And no sooner than he had spoken than two of
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  the monkeys caught Dorothy in their arms and flew away with her. Others took
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  the scarecrow and the woodman, and the lion, and one little monkey seized
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  Toto and flew after them, although the dog tried hard to bite him.
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  The scarecrow and the tin woodman were rather frightened at first, for they remembered
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  how badly the winged monkeys had treated them before. But they saw that no
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  harm was intended, so they rode through the air quite cheerfully and had a
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  fine time looking at the pretty gardens and woods far below them. Dorothy found
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  herself riding easily between two of the biggest monkeys, one of them the king
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  himself. They had made a chair of their hands and were car not to
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  hurt her. Why do you have to obey the charm of the golden cap,
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  she asked. That is a long story, answered the King with a
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  winged laugh, But as we have a long journey before us, I will
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  pass the time by telling you about it. If you wish, I shall
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  be glad to hear it, she replied. Once began the leader, we
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  were a free people, living happily in the great forest, flying from tree
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  to tree, eating nuts and fruit, and doing just as we pleased,
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  without calling anybody master. Perhaps some of us were rather too full of mischief
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  at times, flying down to pull the tails of the animals that had no
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  wings, chasing birds and throwing nuts at the people who walked in the forest.
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  But we were careless and happy and full of fun, and enjoyed every
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  minute of the day. This was many years ago, long before Oz came
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  out of the clouds to rule over this land. There lived here, then
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  away at the north, a beautiful princess who was also a powerful sorceress.
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  All her magic was used to help the people, and she was never known
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  to hurt anyone who was good. Her name was Gayla Yet, and she
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  lived in a handsome palace built from great blocks of ruby. Everyone loved her,
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  but her greatest sorrow was that she could find no one to love in
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  return, since all the men were much too stupid and ugly to mate with
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  one so beautiful and wise. At last, however, she found a boy
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  who was handsome and manly and wise beyond his years. Gayla Yet made up
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  her mind that when he grew to be a man, she would make him
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  her husband. So she took him to her ruby palace and used all her
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  magic powers to make him as strong and good and lovely as any woman could
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  wish. When he grew to manhood, que La La, as he was
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  called, was said to be the best and wisest man in all the land,
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  while his manly beauty was so great that Gayla yet loved him dearly and
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  hastened to make everything ready for the wedding. My grandfather was at the time
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  the king of the winged monkeys which lived in the forest near Gayallett's palace,
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  and the old fellow loved to joke better than a good dinner. One day,
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  just before the wedding, my grandfather was flying out with his band when
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  he saw kue La Lau walking beside the river. He was dressed in a
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  rich costume of pink silk and purple velvet, and my grandfather thought he would
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  see what he could do. At his word, the band flew down and
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  seized kue La La, carrying him in their arms until they were over the
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  middle of the river, and then dropped him into the water. Swim out,
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  my fine fellow, cried my grandfather, and see if the water has
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  spotted your clothes. Que La Lau was much too wise not to swim,
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  and he was not in the least spoiled by all his good fortune. He
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  laughed when he came to the top of the water and swam to the shore.
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  But when Gaylilett came running out to see him, she found his silks
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  and velvet all ruined by the river. The princess was angry, and she
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  knew, of course who did it. She had all the wing monkeys brought
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  before her, and she said at first that their wings should be tied,
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  and they should be treated as they had treated cue La La, and dropped
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  in the river. But my grandfather pleaded hard, for he knew the monkeys
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  would drown the river with their wings tied, and cu La Law said a
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  kind word for them also, so that Gaylilette finally spared them, on condition
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  that the wing monkeys should ever after do three times the bidding of the owner
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  of the Golden Cap. This cap had been made for a wedding present to
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  cue La La, and it was said to have cost the princess half her
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  kingdom. Of course, my grandfather and all the other monkeys at once agreed
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  to the condition, and that is how it happens that we are three times
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  the slaves of the owner of the Golden Cap, whoever it may be.
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  And what became of them? Asked Dorothy, who had been greatly interested in
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  the story. Cuela Law, being the first owner of the Golden Cap,
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  replied the monkey. He was the first to lay his wishes upon us,
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  as his bride could not bear the sight of us. He called us all
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  to him in the forest after he had married her, and ordered us always
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  to keep where she could never again set eyes on a winged monkey, which
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  we were glad to do, for we were all afraid of her. This
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  was all we ever had to do until the Golden Cap fell into the hands
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  of the wicked witch of the West, who made us enslave the winkies,
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  and afterward drive Oz himself out of the land of the West. Now the
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  Golden Cap is yours, and three times you have the right to lay your
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  wishes upon us. As the Monkey king finished his story, Dorothy looked down
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  and saw the green, shining walls of the Emerald city before them. She
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  wondered at the rapid flight of the monkeys, but was glad the journey was
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  over. The strange creatures set the travelers down carefully before the gate of the
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  city. The king bowed low to Dorothy and then flew away, swiftly,
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  followed by all his band that was a good bride, said the little girl.
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  Yes, and a quick way out of our troubles, replied the lion.
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  How lucky it was you brought away that wonderful cap end of chapter fourteen.