THE
PATCHWORK GIRL
OF OZ
THE
PATCHWORK GIRL
OF OZ
BY
AUTHOR OF THE ROAD TO OZ, DOROTHY AND THE WIZARD IN OZ, THE EMERALD CITYOF OZ, THE LAND OF OZ, OZMA OF OZ, ETC.
ILLUSTRATED BY
JOHN R. NEILL
The Reilly & Lee Co.
Chicago
15PROLOGUE
THROUGH the kindness of Dorothy Gale of Kansas, afterward PrincessDorothy of Oz, an humble writer in the United States of America was onceappointed Royal Historian of Oz, with the privilege of writing thechronicle of that wonderful fairyland. But after making six books aboutthe adventures of those interesting but queer people who live in theLand of Oz, the Historian learned with sorrow that by an edict of theSupreme Ruler, Ozma of Oz, her country would thereafter be renderedinvisible to all who lived outside its borders and that allcommunication with Oz would, in the future, be cut off.
The children who had learned to look for the books about Oz and wholoved the stories about the gay and happy people inhabiting that favoredcountry, were as sorry as their Historian that there would be no morebooks of Oz stories. They wrote many letters asking if the Historian didnot know of some adventures to write about that had happened before theLand of Oz was shut out from all the rest of the world. But he did notknow of any. Finally one of the children inquired why we couldn't hearfrom Princess Dorothy by wireless telegraph, which would enable her tocommunicate to the Historian whatever happened in the far-off Land of Ozwithout his seeing her, or even knowing just where Oz is.
That seemed a good idea; so the Historian rigged up a high tower in hisback yard, and took lessons in wireless telegraphy until he understoodit, and then began to call "Princess Dorothy of Oz" by sending messagesinto the air.
Now, it wasn't