Living being in The Oz Series

Tip

Also known as Tippetarius, that rascally boy, dear father, a boy named Tip, friend Tip.

An orphan boy reared by Mombi in the Gillikin country who remembers nothing of his parents; a strong, rugged, mischievous lad set to farm chores who builds Jack Pumpkinhead to frighten his guardian.

Appears in 24 chapters, first in chapter 25, last in chapter 57.

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	A runaway from his guardian Mombi, now allied with Jack Pumpkinhead, his own creation, whom he leads southward toward the Emerald City and owes support as his 'father'. (as of ch. 27)
Age	A youth / boy (a child). (as of ch. 25)
Appearance	As strong and rugged as a boy may be. (as of ch. 25)
Being nature	A human boy.
Body conditions	Small and rather delicate in appearance.
Conflict	His old feud with Mombi is dissolved and replaced by an inner struggle over identity: unwilling to give up being a boy and traveling with his friends, he must accept that he is really the girl Ozma and resume that form. (as of ch. 47)
Current goal	Reluctantly, to resume his true form as the Princess Ozma and take up the crown of the Emerald City — agreeing to try it while begging to keep his friends and the freedom of his old life. (as of ch. 47)
Dialogue style	Boyish, exclamatory, and self-delighted, talking aloud to himself with laughter. (as of ch. 25)
Equipment	Carries an axe and a knife for his wood-work. (as of ch. 25)
Gender identity	man (as of ch. 25)
Health condition	Sound and unhurt; he awakes soon after dawn and eats a breakfast of berries before resuming the journey, showing no ill effects from the earlier river plunge. (as of ch. 35)
Is alive	yes (as of ch. 25)
Maturation stage	Child / boy
Motive	To press on with his companions to recapture the Emerald City while evading and outwitting the magic of his vengeful former guardian Mombi. (as of ch. 36)
Personality	Mischievous, playful, and idle when unwatched; openly hates Mombi and loves pranks and roaming. (as of ch. 25)
Quirks	Shirks work when unwatched — climbs trees, chases rabbits, fishes with bent pins, and naps in the corn rows. (as of ch. 25)
Referential profile	masculine (as of ch. 25)
Sex profile	male (as of ch. 25)
Skills	Handy and resourceful with wood — carves, whittles, and joints saplings and bark into a man-figure with neat, workmanlike labor. (as of ch. 25)
Social status	Revealed to be Princess Ozma, the rightful heir and future Queen of the Emerald City — no longer Mombi's orphaned ward but the true sovereign of the realm. (as of ch. 47)
Special capabilities	Can work the Powder of Life animation himself: having watched Mombi from the hedge, he repeats her exact words (Weaugh-Teaugh-Peaugh) and hand gestures to bring an inanimate wooden thing to life.
Status	Revealed this chapter to be the enchanted Princess Ozma: astonished and reluctant, he is persuaded to consent, drinks Mombi's sleeping potion, and is transformed on Glinda's couch back into his true form as the girl Ozma. (as of ch. 47)

Relationships

enemy of · Mombi ch. 36
Tip's hostility toward Mombi ends in generosity this chapter: once she confesses and restores him to his true form, he bears her no further grudge and promises to provide for her in her old age.
parent of → Jack Pumpkinhead ch. 27
Tip is Jack's maker and 'father': he built, assembled, carved, and dressed the pumpkin man, and both accept the creator-as-parent relationship, Tip calling Jack 'my son'.
ally of · Jack Pumpkinhead ch. 27
Tip and his creation Jack set out together as companions on the run from Mombi, tramping side by side toward the Emerald City.
subordinate to ← Jack Pumpkinhead ch. 27
Jack acknowledges Tip as his creator and father and declares he owes him obedience, placing himself willingly under Tip's direction as they travel together.
subordinate to ← Saw-Horse ch. 29
The Saw-Horse serves Tip as its master, obeying his commands — keeping still to float, paddling to shore, and going slowly on order — yet this chapter it also talks back, answering Tip's rebuke with its own logic and appealing to him for protection against Jack's teasing.
subordinate to ← the Gump ch. 41
As the being who brought it to life, Tip commands the Gump, which obeys his spoken orders — halting its uncommanded ascent and returning to the roof at his word.
ally of · Tin Woodman ch. 36
Traveling together in the party marching to retake the Emerald City, the Tin Woodman (with the Scarecrow) takes Tip on as one of their friends and companions.
provides service ← Saw-Horse ch. 30
The Saw-Horse serves Tip as a mount and beast of burden, carrying Jack, swimming the party across the river by wiggling its legs, and running to dry their clothes on command.
provides service → Army of Revolt ch. 32
Tip ends his service as the Army's porter: he slips away from the girls and follows the Soldier to the palace, defects to the Scarecrow's side, warns the King of the rebels' intentions, and helps him escape on the Saw-Horse rather than carrying the rebels' baskets.
provides service → four-horned cow ch. 25
Among his chores Tip tends Mombi's four-horned cow, feeding and milking her.
restores form ← Mombi (ended) ch. 47
As her last act of magic, Mombi undoes her own enchantment on Tip — with an incantation over a fire of dried herbs and magical powder — restoring the boy to his true form as the Princess Ozma.
animates → Saw-Horse (ended) ch. 28
Tip brings the wooden saw-horse to life with his stolen Powder of Life, so that the newly-living horse can carry Jack Pumpkinhead and spare his weak joints.
animates → the Gump (ended) ch. 41
Tip brings the assembled flying machine to life, sprinkling it with the last of the Powder of Life and speaking the magic charm, whereupon the Gump shudders alive, cries out, and flaps its wings.
rescues ← Field Mice (ended) ch. 39
The panic the field mice cause among the Army frees Tip from captivity along with his comrades.
captures ← General Jinjur (ended) ch. 39
Jinjur's Army takes Tip prisoner with the others, though Jinjur means to spare and return him to old Mombi rather than destroy him.
persuades ← Glinda (ended) ch. 47
Glinda gently persuades the reluctant Tip to accept the truth and resume his proper form as the Princess Ozma, taking his hand and reassuring him, until he hesitantly consents to try being a girl again.
frees → Jack Pumpkinhead (ended) ch. 27
Unwilling to leave his creation to Mombi's mercies, Tip returns to the cow-stable, opens the stall where the pumpkin-headed man was shut, and brings Jack out into the moonlight to escape with him.
creates → Jack Pumpkinhead (ended) ch. 25
While Mombi is away, Tip builds a tall wooden man — jointing sapling limbs to a bark-cylinder body, adding a carved smiling pumpkin head on a wooden neck, and dressing it in cast-off clothes — then names his creation Jack Pumpkinhead.
rescues → Jack Pumpkinhead (ended) ch. 34
Tip rescues Jack's lost existence: seeing the pumpkin head float off down the river, he seizes a long pole, draws the bobbing pumpkin to shore, wipes it clean, and replaces the head on Jack's neck so he lives again.
threatens ← Mombi (ended) ch. 26
Mombi tells Tip she will make him drink her brewed potion at daybreak to transform him into a marble statue, to be set as an ornament in her flower garden.
steals → Powder of Life (ended) ch. 27
Rifling Mombi's basket for food before running away, Tip finds the pepper-box holding the Powder of Life and takes it, reasoning she would only use it for more mischief.
uses → Powder of Life (ended) ch. 41
Tip uses the last of the Powder of Life from the pepper-box to animate the flying machine, carefully sprinkling most of it on the wings and the remainder on the Gump's head.
possesses → Dr. Nikidik's Celebrated Wishing Pills (ended) ch. 42–44
The party keeps and wields Dr. Nikidik's three silver Wishing Pills, carried in the Scarecrow's pocket: in the Jackdaws' nest Tip swallows one and, in pain, wastes a wish undoing his own swallow so all three return to the box; the Woggle-Bug then swallows and spends a pill to wish the Gump mended, leaving two pills for future wishes.
invokes → Dr. Nikidik's Celebrated Wishing Pills (ended) ch. 43
Tip swallows the first Wishing Pill and counts seventeen by twos (starting at one-half), but, seized by fearful pains, wishes he had never swallowed it — the granted wish undoing the act and returning all three pills to the box.
imprisoned by → General Jinjur (ended) ch. 39–48
[CASCADE] Created by CAPTURES(general_jinjur→tip)
repairs → Jack Pumpkinhead (ended) ch. 35
Tip mends Jack Pumpkinhead's wooden limbs, making them stronger than they were before.
possesses → Powder of Life (ended) ch. 27–41
Having taken the pepper-box of Powder of Life from Mombi's basket, Tip now carries it in his pocket as he flees.
uses → Powder of Life (ended) ch. 28
Tip uses his stolen Powder of Life for the first time himself, sprinkling it from the pepper-box onto the saw-horse to animate it; one dose is spent as the powder vanishes into the horse's body.
teaches → Saw-Horse (ended) ch. 29
Tip teaches the newly-alive Saw-Horse the meaning of his commands, explaining that 'Whoa!' means stop, 'Get-Up!' means walk forward, and 'Trot!' means go as fast as it can.
commands → Saw-Horse (ended) ch. 34
Tip commands the Saw-Horse through the river-crossing and after: he shouts it to keep still so it floats, orders it to paddle toward shore, and later tells it to go slowly now that there is no pursuit.
warns → Scarecrow (ended) ch. 33
Tip warns the Scarecrow that the palace is surrounded and escape nearly too late, and relays the rebels' threat to make a rag carpet of his outside and stuff their cushions with his inside.
repairs → Scarecrow (ended) ch. 34
Tip repairs the waterlogged Scarecrow: he removes the sodden straw from the King's body and legs, dries it in the sun, then re-stuffs him into symmetrical shape and smooths his face back to its usual gay expression.
commands → the Gump (ended) ch. 41
When the newly-alive Gump rises uncontrolled from the roof, Tip commands it to come back at once, and the Gump turns its head and obeys, settling back onto the roof.
repairs → Jack Pumpkinhead (ended) ch. 36
After the fall, Tip fits Jack's dislodged pumpkin head back onto his neck and sets him upright on his feet again.
subordinate to → Mombi (ended) ch. 25–27
Tip is the ward and drudge of his guardian Mombi, made to carry wood, work the corn-fields, feed the pigs, and milk her cow.
expresses hatred → Mombi (ended) ch. 25
Tip frankly hates his guardian Mombi and makes no effort to hide it, showing her less respect than a ward should.
defies → Mombi (ended) ch. 27
Rebelling against Mombi's threat to turn him into a marble statue, Tip resolves not to stand it, and while she sleeps he steals food and her Powder of Life, frees Jack, and runs away from her.
deceives ← Mombi (ended) ch. 38
Mombi's contrived illusions — a phantom river, a granite wall, whirling roads, and a sheet of flame — are thrown in the way of Tip and the party to prevent them from reaching the Emerald City.
commands → Saw-Horse (ended) ch. 33
Tip orders the Saw-Horse to save them all — to run as fast as it can for the city gate and let nothing stop it.
commands → the Gump (ended) ch. 42
Tip directs the Gump's flight, ordering it to fly south and low, then commanding it to turn back and to stop at the first level place when they realize they have left Oz.
commands → the Gump (ended) ch. 46
Eager to follow Glinda's chase, Tip orders the Gump to fly and mount into the air so the party can spot which way the Sorceress has gone.
communicates with ← Woggle-Bug (ended) ch. 36
Tip reads the Woggle-Bug's calling card aloud and studies the wonderful insect closely as it introduces itself to the party.
communicates with ← Woggle-Bug (ended) ch. 37
Tip questions the Woggle-Bug about why insects wear clothes and where he was going, and the Woggle-Bug answers, telling of the tailor and his intended lecture-visit to the Emerald City.
communicates with ← General Jinjur (ended) ch. 32
Meeting Tip on the road, Jinjur feeds him and explains her secret Revolt — that her all-girl army will conquer the Scarecrow's Emerald City that very day.
witnesses → Jack Pumpkinhead (ended) ch. 26
Hidden behind a hedge where he can see without being seen, Tip secretly watches Mombi bring Jack to life with the Powder of Life.
teaches → Jack Pumpkinhead (ended) ch. 27
Tip patiently instructs the newly-alive, confused Jack in the geography and history of Oz—the colored countries, the Emerald City, the Wizard, Dorothy, the Scarecrow, and the Tin Woodman.
teaches → Jack Pumpkinhead (ended) ch. 28
Tip explains to the endlessly-curious Jack what a horse is, the difference between a living horse and a wooden saw-horse, and — impatiently — even improvises meanings for the ritual words as he works the animation.
protects → Jack Pumpkinhead (ended) ch. 29
Tip guards fragile Jack from harm — fitting a post for him to grip so he can't fall and crack his pumpkin head, and laying him safely on the ground overnight.
communicates with → Jack Pumpkinhead (ended) ch. 29
Tip and Jack converse throughout the taming of the Saw-Horse — Jack suggesting the horse be given ears and joking about his own limitations, Tip explaining and reassuring him.
commands → Jack Pumpkinhead (ended) ch. 37
Tip sternly orders Jack to keep quiet during the Woggle-Bug's story, and Jack obediently complies, calling him 'dear father'.
communicates with ← Jack Pumpkinhead (ended) ch. 26
Jack good-humoredly banters with Tip, protesting he hopes Tip is not reflecting on his personal appearance and insisting he can walk on his own jointed legs.
praises ← Jack Pumpkinhead (ended) ch. 28
When the saw-horse comes to life, Jack delightedly praises Tip as a very clever sorcerer.
communicates with ← Jack Pumpkinhead (ended) ch. 33
Reunited in the courtyard, Jack joyfully greets Tip as his 'noble parent', relieved to find him safe after the Saw-Horse ran away with him.
fears → Mombi (ended) ch. 26
Tip is afraid of Mombi, obeying her quickly and growing uneasy because he knows she has a bad and revengeful heart.
defies → Mombi (ended) ch. 26
Ordered to go to bed, Tip disobeys and instead sits awake glaring at the dying fire.
located in → Palace of Oz (ended) ch. 39–42
Tip enters the royal palace with the party and remains there as they barricade it for a council of war.
reveals secret to → Scarecrow (ended) ch. 40
When his pepper-box of Powder of Life rolls from his pocket, Tip explains to the curious Scarecrow and the others what it is — magical stuff Mombi got from a crooked sorcerer that brings anything to life — warning that only about one dose remains.
communicates with ← Tin Woodman (ended) ch. 47
The Tin Woodman soothes the distressed Tip on learning he must become a girl, promising the friends will remain faithful just the same and adding that he has always considered girls nicer than boys.
confronts → Woggle-Bug (ended) ch. 38
Provoked on behalf of the Saw-Horse and Jack, Tip rebukes the Woggle-Bug's pun as a poor and stale joke and disputes his claim that punning requires education.
located in → Country of the Gillikins (ended) ch. 25–29
Tip has run away from Mombi's house and travels south through the Country of the Gillikins along its roads, heading for the Emerald City though still within the northern country for now.

11 further relationships are in the interactive codex.

From the text

But Tip frankly hated her, and took no pains to hide his feelings.Chapter 25

So, by taking care not to exhaust his strength, he grew as strong and rugged as a boy may be.Chapter 25

And Jack belongs to me, for I made him even if the old witch did bring him to life.Chapter 27

You are a very clever sorcerer, dear father!Chapter 28

“I’ve known old Mombi do things like that before.”Chapter 36

“Stop! stop!” cried Tip, seizing the Woodman’s arm; “they’re alive! they’re girls!”Chapter 36

See Tip chapter by chapter in the interactive codex →

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