The Oz Series

Chapter 41

Part of the The Marvelous Land of Oz: Tip's Rebellion and the Return of Ozma arc.

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What happens

The adventurers reassemble on the palace roof, each having brought a queer assortment of items with no clear plan. The Woggle-Bug carried up the antlered head of a Gump taken from over the mantelpiece in the great hallway; the Gump's head resembles an Elk's head but with an upturned nose and billy-goat whiskers. Tip, with the Saw-Horse's help, hauled up a large, heavy, old-fashioned upholstered sofa. Jack Pumpkinhead brought a broom, and the Scarecrow brought a coil of clothes-lines and ropes from the courtyard, becoming so entangled that he tumbled onto the roof and was rescued by Tip. The Tin Woodman arrived last with four great palm-leaves he cut from the royal palm-tree in the courtyard. The Scarecrow warns that the penalty for chopping leaves from the royal palm-tree is to be killed seven times and imprisoned for life, but the Tin Woodman says it cannot be helped and gives them more reason to escape.

The Tin Woodman, after polishing his forehead, undertakes the task. He determines the machine needs a body large enough to carry the whole party and identifies the sofa as the biggest thing available, but worries the machine could tip and dump everyone. Tip suggests fetching a second, identical sofa from downstairs, which the Tin Woodman praises. Tip and the Saw-Horse bring up the second sofa, and the two are placed edge to edge so their backs and ends form a protecting rampart around the seats. The two sofas are bound firmly together with ropes and clothes-lines.

Nick Chopper fastens the Gump's head to one end as a figure-head marking the front, and attaches the four palm-leaves, two on each side, as wings, acknowledging they are not proportioned to the body but are the strongest material available. At Jack's insistence, the broom is fastened to the back end as a tail; the Scarecrow reasons the creature may use it as a rudder for steering, like a bird's tail.

Tip takes the pepper-box, warning there may not be enough Powder of Life left to animate the whole Thing. Following Nick Chopper's advice, he sprinkles the most powder on the wings, then the sofas, then lightly on the broom. A dispute arises over whether to animate the legs of the sofas or the head; the Scarecrow decides that everything must have a head to direct it, and since the creature is to fly rather than walk, its legs need not be alive. Tip sprinkles the Gump's head with the remaining powder. Having heard Mombi pronounce the magic words and having successfully animated the Saw-Horse before, Tip speaks the three cabalistic words with the accompanying hand gestures.

The Thing shudders, the Gump gives its screeching cry, and the four wings begin flopping furiously, raising a terrible breeze. Tip grasps a chimney to avoid being blown off; the light Scarecrow is caught up and borne through the air until Tip seizes his leg; the Woggle-Bug lies flat; the heavy Tin Woodman anchors himself and saves Jack; and the Saw-Horse topples onto his back. The Thing rises from the roof and mounts into the air. Tip shouts a command for it to come back, and because the head rather than the legs was brought to life, the Gump turns its head at the command, circles around, and settles back onto the roof, becoming still.

Who is in play

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