CHAPTER 2 : THE TROUBLES OF GLINDA THE GOOD
That same morning there was great
excitement in the castle of the powerful Sorceress
of Oz, Glinda the Good. This castle, situated
in the Quadling Country, far south of the Emerald
City where Ozma ruled, was a splendid structure of
exquisite marbles and silver grilles. Here the
Sorceress lived, surrounded by a bevy of the most beautiful
maidens of Oz, gathered from all the four countries
of that fairyland as well as from the magnificent
Emerald City itself, which stood in the place where
the four countries cornered. It was considered
a great honor to be allowed to serve the good Sorceress,
whose arts of magic were used only to benefit the
Oz people. Glinda was Ozma’s most valued
servant, for her knowledge of sorcery was wonderful,
and she could accomplish almost anything that her
mistress, the lovely girl Ruler of Oz, wished her
to.
Of all the magical things which surrounded
Glinda in her castle, there was none more marvelous
than her Great Book of Records. On the pages
of this Record Book were constantly being inscribed,
day by day and hour by hour, all the important events
that happened anywhere in the known world, and they
were inscribed in the book at exactly the moment the
events happened. Every adventure in the Land
of Oz and in the big outside world, and even in places
that you and I have never heard of, were recorded
accurately in the Great Book, which never made a mistake
and stated only the exact truth. For that reason,
nothing could be concealed from Glinda the Good, who
had only to look at the pages of the Great Book of
Records to know everything that had taken place.
That was one reason she was such a great Sorceress,
for the records made her wiser than any other living
person.
This wonderful book was placed upon
a big gold table that stood in the middle of Glinda’s
drawing room. The legs of the table, which were
incrusted with precious gems, were firmly fastened
to the tiled floor, and the book itself was chained
to the table and locked with six stout golden padlocks,
the keys to which Glinda carried on a chain that was
secured around her own neck. The pages of the
Great Book were larger in size than those of an American
newspaper, and although they were exceedingly thin,
there were so many of them that they made an enormous,
bulky volume. With its gold cover and gold clasps,
the book was so heavy that three men could scarcely
have lifted it. Yet this morning when Glinda
entered her drawing room after breakfast, the good
Sorceress was amazed to discover that her Great Book
of Records had mysteriously disappeared.
Advancing to the table, she found
the chains had been cut with some sharp instrument,
and this must have been done while all in the castle
slept. Glinda was shocked and grieved. Who
could have done this wicked, bold thing? And
who could wish to deprive her of her Great Book of
Records?
The Sorceress was thoughtful for a
time, considering the consequences of her loss.
Then she went to her Room of Magic to prepare a charm
that would tell her who had stolen the Record Book.
But when she unlocked her cupboard and threw open
the doors, all of her magical instruments and rare
chemical compounds had been removed from the shelves.
The Sorceress has now both angry and alarmed.
She sat down in a chair and tried to think how this
extraordinary robbery could have taken place.
It was evident that the thief was some person of very
great power, or the theft could not have been accomplished
without her knowledge. But who, in all the Land
of Oz, was powerful and skillful enough to do this
awful thing? And who, having the power, could
also have an object in defying the wisest and most
talented Sorceress the world has ever known?
Glinda thought over the perplexing
matter for a full hour, at the end of which time she
was still puzzled how to explain it. But although
her instruments and chemicals were gone, her knowledge
of magic had not been stolen, by any means, since
no thief, however skillful, can rob one of knowledge,
and that is why knowledge is the best and safest treasure
to acquire. Glinda believed that when she had
time to gather more magical herbs and élixirs
and to manufacture more magical instruments, she would
be able to discover who the robber was and what had
become of her precious Book of Records.
“Whoever has done this,”
she said to her maidens, “is a very foolish
person, for in time he is sure to be found out and
will then be severely punished.”
She now made a list of the things
she needed and dispatched messengers to every part
of Oz with instructions to obtain them and bring them
to her as soon as possible. And one of her messengers
met the little Wizard of Oz, who was seated on the
back of the famous live Sawhorse and was clinging
to its neck with both his arms, for the Sawhorse was
speeding to Glinda’s castle with the velocity
of the wind, bearing the news that Royal Ozma, Ruler
of all the great Land of Oz, had suddenly disappeared
and no one in the Emerald City knew what had become
of her.
“Also,” said the Wizard
as he stood before the astonished Sorceress, “Ozma’s
Magic Picture is gone, so we cannot consult it to discover
where she is. So I came to you for assistance
as soon as we realized our loss. Let us look
in the Great Book of Records.”
“Alas,” returned the Sorceress
sorrowfully, “we cannot do that, for the Great
Book of Records has also disappeared!”