Talking animal in The Oz Series
King Kik-a-bray
Also known as his great and glorious Majesty, his Majesty, the white donkey.
King Kik-a-bray is the round-eyed, big-eared white donkey monarch of Dunkiton, who receives visitors in a bare, mat-floored room wearing only a gold crown and holding a jeweled Magic Staff. Vain about fine speech and capricious with his one-way transformation magic (he can 'DO things' but can't 'UNdo them'), he rewards the shaggy man's flattering address by magically bestowing a donkey's head on him as a 'gift,' then begs Dorothy to win him an invitation to Princess Ozma's birthday celebration.
Appears in 2 chapters, first in chapter 95, last in chapter 96.
This encyclopedia covers chapters 1 to 100 of the story and shows the world as it stands at chapter 100, so it contains spoilers up to that point. To read it spoiler free, one chapter at a time, open the interactive codex.
What the story establishes
| Affiliation | Ruler of Dunkiton and its donkey population. (as of ch. 95) |
| Animal kind | Donkey — a white donkey who walks and sits upright on his hind legs. |
| Appearance | A white donkey who stands and sits upright, wearing a big gold crown and holding a golden staff topped with a jeweled ball. (as of ch. 96) |
| Being nature | A talking donkey who rules as king over the donkeys of Dunkiton. |
| Body conditions | A white donkey head with big, awful ears and round, solemn eyes. |
| Conflict | His transformation magic works only one way, so he can inflict changes on others but cannot undo them, leaving him unable to fix the harm he causes. (as of ch. 96) |
| Current goal | To obtain an invitation to Princess Ozma's birthday celebration through Dorothy. (as of ch. 96) |
| Dialogue style | Pompous and self-important, punctuating speech with involuntary brays of 'Hee-haw!' and reacting to flattery with grand pronouncements. (as of ch. 96) |
| Equipment | A big gold crown and a golden staff with a jeweled ball at the end, used to work his magic. (as of ch. 96) |
| Gender identity | man (as of ch. 95) |
| Is alive | yes (as of ch. 95) |
| Motive | Motivated by vanity and a desire for status among fairy royalty, wanting to attend Ozma's grand birthday celebration; also prone to sudden affection toward those who flatter him. (as of ch. 96) |
| Personality | Vain and easily flattered, considering donkeys the pinnacle of wisdom and civilization; impulsively generous with his magic without regard for consequences. (as of ch. 96) |
| Quirks | Habitually punctuates his speech with an involuntary 'Hee-haw!' bray, even mid-sentence when pleased or excited. (as of ch. 96) |
| Referential profile | masculine (as of ch. 95) |
| Sex profile | male (as of ch. 96) |
| Skills | One-directional transformation and conjuring magic wielded through his jeweled Magic Staff — he can change a being's head into a donkey's and conjure desired food and furnishings, but his magic can only do and never undo. (as of ch. 96) |
| Social status | King and supreme ruler of Dunkiton, addressed with the honorific 'his great and glorious Majesty.' (as of ch. 95) |
| Special capabilities | Wields a magic staff that can instantly transform a person's head into a donkey's head and conjure food and furnishings, but its transformation magic only creates changes and cannot reverse them. |
| Status | Anxious about a possible fox incursion before recognizing the visitors as distinguished travelers, then hosting Dorothy's group as royal guests for the night and providing them food and lodging. (as of ch. 96) |
Relationships
- oath bound ← Dorothy ch. 96Dorothy promises King Kik-a-bray she will ask Princess Ozma to invite him to Ozma's birthday celebration, in exchange for supper, a bed for the night, and an early start the next morning; fulfillment_status: pending, since she has not yet reached Oz.
- rules → Dunkiton ch. 95King Kik-a-bray is named as the great and glorious ruling monarch of Dunkiton, before whom the grey donkey says the travelers will be brought.
- leader of → Dunkiton Donkeys ch. 95King Kik-a-bray is the ruling monarch of the Dunkiton donkeys: he holds court in his house, is served by a favorite brown donkey attendant who brings him his gold crown and jeweled staff, and personally exercises royal power over visitors and subjects, using his magic staff to transform the shaggy man's head and to conjure food and lodging for guests.
- possesses → Magic Staff ch. 96A little brown donkey brings King Kik-a-bray a golden staff with a jeweled ball at its end, which he holds between his front hoofs and wields as his magic staff of office.
- transforms → the Shaggy Man (ended) ch. 96Moved by the shaggy man's flattering speech and by the Love Magnet, King Kik-a-bray waves his jeweled staff and involuntarily transforms the shaggy man's head into a donkey's head, as what he considers a great gift.
- uses → Magic Staff (ended) ch. 96King Kik-a-bray waves his jeweled magic staff to transform the shaggy man's head into a donkey's head, and later waves it again to conjure a table set with each guest's requested food.
- communicates with → Dorothy (ended) ch. 96King Kik-a-bray converses with Dorothy about the location of the Truth Pond, learns she knows Princess Ozma, and asks for an invitation to Ozma's birthday celebration, arranging food and lodging for the group in return.
- negotiates with → Dorothy (ended) ch. 96King Kik-a-bray and Dorothy strike a bargain: he will give the group supper, beds, and an early morning departure, in exchange for Dorothy asking Princess Ozma to invite him to her birthday celebration.
- praises ← the Shaggy Man (ended) ch. 96The shaggy man delivers an elaborate, flattering speech calling King Kik-a-bray the cleverest king in all the world, which pleases the King greatly and, combined with the Love Magnet, prompts him to bestow the donkey-head 'gift.'
- provides service → road_to_oz_traveling_party (ended) ch. 96King Kik-a-bray provides Dorothy's traveling party with conjured food matching each member's tastes, a house to sleep in overnight, and a servant-donkey guide out of the city, in exchange for Dorothy's promised invitation.
- fears → Button-Bright (ended) ch. 96King Kik-a-bray eyes Button-Bright sharply and warily, seemingly afraid of the little boy's strange fox head.
From the text
You shall be taken before his great and glorious Majesty King Kik-a-bray, who will greet you as becomes your exalted stations.Chapter 95
My magic works only one way. I can DO things, but I can't UNdo them. You'll have to find the Truth Pond, and bathe in its water, in order to get back your own head.Chapter 96
It was a white head, with big, awful ears and round, solemn eyes.Chapter 96
See King Kik-a-bray chapter by chapter in the interactive codex →