The Oz Series

Chapter 47

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

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What happens

Glinda tells Mombi she is her prisoner and that further struggle is useless, inviting her to rest before being carried back to the tent. Mombi, breathless, asks why she is sought and persecuted; Glinda answers that Mombi has done nothing to her personally but suspects several wicked actions and intends to punish her severely if it is true she abused her knowledge of magic. Mombi defiantly declares Glinda dare not harm her. The Gump flies up and alights beside them on the desert sands, and the friends are delighted Mombi is captured. After consultation, they decide to return to camp in the Gump; the Saw-Horse is tossed aboard, and Glinda, still holding the golden thread around Mombi's neck, forces her prisoner into the sofas. Tip commands the Gump to return, and the journey is made safely, Mombi sitting grim and sullen but helpless while the magical thread encircles her throat. The army hails Glinda's return with cheers, and the friends gather in the repaired royal tent.

Glinda demands that Mombi explain why the Wonderful Wizard of Oz paid her three visits and what became of the child Ozma who disappeared. Mombi remains silent and defiant. Jack suggests she may not know, and the Woggle-Bug remarks on his good fortune that no one expects wisdom from a pumpkin. The Scarecrow asks how to make Mombi speak; the Tin Woodman suggests trying kindness, but the Witch glares so horribly that he shrinks back. Glinda then warns Mombi she gains nothing by defiance, for Glinda is determined to learn the truth about Ozma and will put Mombi to death unless she tells all she knows. The Tin Woodman protests that killing anyone would be awful, but Glinda explains it is merely a threat, since Mombi will prefer to tell the truth. Mombi asks what will be done with her if she confesses; Glinda replies she will merely be made to drink a powerful draught that will cause her to forget all the magic she ever learned, leaving her a helpless but living old woman. Given the choice between death for silence and loss of magical powers for truth, Mombi, seeing Glinda in earnest, agrees to answer.

Glinda motions to a Captain, who brings a golden casket from which the Sorceress draws an immense white pearl on a slender chain, placing it around her neck so the pearl rests over her heart. She asks why the Wizard paid three visits; Mombi first lies that it was to learn how she makes tea-biscuits. Glinda commands Mombi to look up and asks the pearl's color; Mombi says it is black, and Glinda declares this proves a falsehood, since the pearl remains pure white only when the truth is spoken. Recognizing deception is useless, Mombi confesses that the Wizard brought her the girl Ozma, then a baby, and begged her to conceal the child. Glinda asks what he gave in return; Mombi says he taught her all his magical tricks, some genuine and some frauds, and she kept her promise. Asked what she did with the girl, Mombi reveals she enchanted her by transforming her into a boy—pointing her bony finger straight at Tip and declaring that Tip is the Princess Ozma, the rightful ruler of the Emerald City.

Tip cries in amazement that he is no Princess and not a girl. Glinda gently takes his hand and explains that he is not a girl just now because Mombi transformed him into a boy, but he was born a girl and a Princess and must resume his proper form to become Queen of the Emerald City. Tip protests, wanting to remain a boy and travel with the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, Woggle-Bug, Jack, the Saw-Horse, and the Gump. His friends reassure him: the Tin Woodman says being a girl doesn't hurt and they will remain faithful, the Scarecrow pats his head, and the Woggle-Bug offers to become his tutor. Jack observes that if Tip becomes a girl he can no longer be Jack's father, and Tip laughs that he shall not be sorry to escape the relationship. Tip agrees to try it, on Glinda's promise—but Glinda explains transformation is beyond her magic, since she never deals in dishonest transformations, and only Mombi can effect Tip's release, her last chance to practice magic.

Mombi, no longer caring about Tip but fearing Glinda's anger, consents after Tip generously promises to provide for her in her old age if he becomes ruler. Glinda orders her royal couch placed at the tent's center, piled with rose-colored silk cushions and hung with pink gossamer folds concealing the interior. Mombi makes the boy drink a potion sending him into a deep, dreamless sleep; the Tin Woodman and Woggle-Bug bear him to the couch and draw the gossamer hangings shut. The Witch kindles a tiny fire of dried herbs, scatters magical powder that gives off a rich violet vapor filling the tent and forcing the Saw-Horse to sneeze, chants a rhythmical verse, bends her body seven times over the fire, then stands upright and cries the one word "Yeowa!" The vapor floats away, fresh air fills the tent, and the pink curtains tremble. Glinda parts the hangings and helps arise the form of a young girl, fresh and beautiful, with diamond-sparkling eyes, tourmaline-tinted lips, ruddy gold tresses confined by a jeweled circlet, silken gauze robes, and satin slippers. Tip's old comrades stare in wonder, then bow low in admiration of the lovely Princess Ozma, who tells them she hopes none will care less for her, being just the same Tip, only different; Jack observes she is different, which everyone thinks the wisest speech he ever made.

Who is in play

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