Get your own Free Home PageIn Dorothy's bedroom in the Royal Palace of Oz, the famous Princess from Kansas was telling the story of her first Oz adventure to Betsy Bobbin, Trot, and Jenny Jump. Although all three listeners had heard this story many times before, they paid close attention to every second of the recital.
"I wish I could've seen that adventure," stated Jenny, after Dorothy had finished telling how she had used her Silver Shoes to return to Kansas.
"You prob'ly could, Jenny," said Trot. "There must be time-travel devices in Oz."
"Yes, but I'm not sure it would be a good idea to travel to the past," warned Dorothy. "Any change in the past could greatly affect the present."
"But just watching might not hurt," objected Betsy.
"Don't even think about time-travelling," said Toto, Dorothy's dog. "The space-time continuum should not be fooled around with."
"Oh, what would a dog know about that kind of thing?" argued Eureka, the Pink Cat.
"Never mind," stated Jenny. "I just thought it might be interesting to see. I don't actually plan on seeing it."
"Well, I'm not making a journey soon, but not through time," announced Trot. "Cap'n Bill and I are going to the Nonestic Ocean next week."
Trot then began to talk about her trip, but, after about a minute, someone knocked on Dorothy's door. Dorothy answered the door, and saw Sister Six, who assisted Jenny in her Style Shop.
"We have too many customers, Jenny!" said Sister Six, in a worried voice. "You have to come back to the Shop!"
"All right," sighed Jenny. "Goodbye, everyone!"
Jenny and Sister Six hurried through the palace, out the open front doors, down Strawberry Street, and into Jenny's famous Style Shop, where at least thirty people were waiting to walk though the Magic Turn-Style.
These customers, and more who came into the shop later, kept Jenny and Sister Six busy until nearly eleven o'clock at night. Finally, the last Ozites left the building, Sister Six returned to her uncle's house on Pudding Place, and Jenny closed the Style Shop. The young Duchess of Oz then ate a quick dinner and brushed her teeth.
The girl programmed her Turn-Style for a purple silk night-gown, in the current Gillikin style. Just as she entered the Turn-Style, she heard a thunder-clap. A bolt of lightning followed, and the Turn-Style began to spin at an amazing speed. Everything went dark for a minute and thirty-six seconds, when the darkness was replaced with bright sunlight. Jenny fell out of the Turn-Style, and landed, not on the floor, but on the ground. The magic device landed next to her, and continued to spin. When the Duchess was able to stand up, she touched the Turn-Style, and received a shock that sent her two hundred sixty-four feet into the air.
Jenny was accustomed to moving around in the sky, since she often launched herself into the air with her fairy shoe. However, the girl was still dizzy from spinning and falling, so, when she tried to fly to the north until she saw a familiar landmark or a place to sleep, her motion was very jerky. She soon fell into a deep green forest, and landed in a stream. After Jenny had climbed out of the water, and her ears had emptied out, she heard raspy, evil, and somehow familiar voice.
"Well, objecting isn't going to do you any good, you silly old goose. Goose? Now that gives me an idea!" The voice muttered something, and then laughed evilly.
Jenny heard a great squawk, which was followed by the words, "Help! Help! Somebody help! This woman is a witch!"
"Oh, shut your bill, you pathetic bird-brain! No one can hear you out here! And don't go trying to tell anybody else about what I'm doing! If you so much as make a peep to anyone about my transformations, you will disappear from the face of the Earth! Now get out of my sight, you miserable little fowl! I have a King to enchant!"
Obviously the goose did not obey the witch, since Jenny heard the evil woman screaming a few seconds later. The Duchess then heard, in the witch's voice, "Get out of my sight, you feathery excuse for a Prime Minister! And never cross my path again!"
A great witch-wind suddenly blew toward Jenny. And riding in this wind was the goose himself. The girl managed to grab the bird just before the gust knocked her into the stream.
"Get me out of this water!" yelled the goose, as he frantically swam around.
"There's no need to get so excited over water," advised Jenny. "You're a goose."
"Oh, yes," said the fowl, in a calmer tone. "I, er, forgot."
"I'm Jenny Jump, a Duchess of Oz. Who are you, and where in Oz are we?"
"I'm, uh, a goose. And I'm not sure where we are. It's some forest near the Royal Castle of Oz."
"Well, come on, goose," said Jenny, as she climbed back onto dry land. "We have to stop that witch from enchanting your King."
"I, uh, don't know what you're talking about."
"Oh, yes you do. I heard everything. A witch just turned you into a goose, and now she's going to do something to your King. But I know how to deal with witches."
"And how is that?" asked the bird, as he followed the girl onto the bank of the stream.
"You'll see. First, I need something that holds water."
"There's a goblet tree right over there," stated the goose, as he indicated a nearby plant with his right wing.
"These are a little small, but they'll probably do," said the girl, as she picked three green glass goblets from the tree. Next, Jenny filled the goblets with water from the stream.
"Are you some sort of magician?" inquired the goose, as he watched Jenny.
"I guess you could say that," laughed the Duchess. "Now, come on, goose, let's stop that wicked witch. You lead the way."
The bird waddled in the direction from which he had come. When Jenny suggested that he try flying, the goose spread his wings and began a surprisingly steady flight. The girl and the fowl eventually reached the spot where the witch was performing an incantation on a King who was strangely familiar to Jenny. While the goose hid behind a tree, Jenny rushed right up to the witch and flung the contents of a goblet at her face. She then repeated this process with the other two glasses.
Now, many of you know that water will destroy witches. Only a small amount was thrown at this witch, but it was enough to start a reaction. The hideously shrieking woman slowly dissolved.
After the witch was destroyed, the King made no movements and spoke no words. But this was entirely understandable, since the man was tied to a tree and a gag was in his mouth. Jenny Jump freed the King from these bonds, and His Majesty thanked the young Duchess of Oz.
"And who might you be?" asked the monarch. "Are you a sorceress, or a wizardess?"
"I believe she is, Your Highness," stated the goose, who had just stepped out from behind the tree. "She claims to be a Duchess of Oz, but I'm not sure I believe her."
"No, neither do I. No respectable Duchess would be out here in the middle of the woods, wearing a nightgown."
Now, Jenny had not noticed it, and the goose had not mentioned it, but the Turn-Style had worked the magic that Jenny had programmed it to do, and she was dressed in a purple nightgown and pink socks. These clothes were exceedingly wet, too, due to the time that she had spent in the stream.
"Well, I was just about ready to go to bed," explained Jenny, in an embarrassed voice, "when I was magically whisked out of my home. I guess you two would know how irritating magic can be."
"Oh, absolutely. Thank you again for rescuing me. I am Pastoria, King of Oz, and son of Ozroar. And this," the King stated, indicating the goose, "is Pajuka, my Prime Minister, who is, unfortunately, not in his proper form."
"Yes," said the Prime Minister. "You seem to know some magic. Do you think you could disenchant me?"
"Oh, I don't know much about that kind of magic," admitted Jenny Jump.
"But you managed to destroy the witch."
"Oh, that was easy. Water makes witches melt. That's common knowledge where I come from."
"Does anyone where you come from know how to disenchant people who have been turned into geese?"
"If I could get home, the Wizard or Ozma could help you."
"Ozma? Is she a member of the Royal Family?" asked the King.
"Yes. In fact, she's the Queen of Oz."
"The Queen of Oz? Oz hasn't had a Queen in a long time," said Pastoria, in a puzzled voice.
"But you look just like Ozma's father. His name is Pastoria, he used to be the King of Oz, and his Prime Minister was named Pajuka. In fact, I think Pajuka was once a goose."
"But I'm still the King, and Pajuka is still a goose. And I do have a daughter named Ozma, but she's still a baby."
"Maybe she's from the future," suggested Pajuka. He had intended this statement as a joke, but Jenny seriously considered this possibility.
"What year is it?" inquired the Duchess.
When Pastoria had given this information to the girl, she exclaimed, "Leaping Leprechauns! That's almost a century before I was even born! That magic that took me out of my shop must have taken me back in time."
"You have a shop? What manner of shop?" asked His Majesty.
"Well, it's a Style Shop. I produce clothes for people."
"So, you're a seamstress?"
"Well, sort of."
"I've always been fascinated by the work of tailors and seamstresses. But I've never had a chance to do any tailoring. I've been too busy kinging it over this Land."
"You'll get a chance."
"What do you mean?"
"Oh, nothing," said Jenny, who realized that she should not give too much information about the future to the people of the past. "Do you know of anyone who could help me return to my time?"
"I can't think of anyone right now. There's a powerful Sorceress, with the name of Glinda, who lives in the Quadling Country, but I don't know if even she knows anything about travelling through time."
"Well, we may as well ask this Glinda." Jenny did not mention that she knew Glinda very well. The Duchess could not recall the Sorceress having any time-travel magic, but then again, Glinda was very mysterious, and no one knew the full extent of her powers.
The King pulled a watch out of his pocket, looked at it, and stated, "It's getting late. Maybe you should stay at my castle tonight, and see Glinda in the morning."
The girl agreed to this plan, so Pastoria led the way to his magnificent green castle. It was not quite as lovely as Ozma's Palace, and was more heavily fortified than that building in the Emerald City, but it was a very nice place. The King, the goose, and the girl walked through the front gate, the front doorway, and the entrance to Pastoria's Throne Room, saluting to many guards along the way.
In green arm-chairs in this chamber sat Palunda, the King's Personal Valet, and Pasulda, Pastoria's Royal Bodyguard. Upon seeing their liege, the two officials jumped up from their seats and approached His Majesty.
"Why did you leave the castle without me?" demanded Pasulda.
"Where have you been?" asked Palunda. "And who are the goose and the girl?"
"I am Pajuka," answered Pajuka. "That witch Mombi turned me into a goose, and she tried to enchant the King, but this girl saved us. Her name is Jenny Jump, and in the far future, she will be a Duchess of Oz."
"I suppose Oz will have some strange customs in the far future. Duchesses today don't wear their nightgowns in the middle of the day."
"They don't in my time, either," laughed Jenny. "Magic took me back in time when I was getting ready to go to bed."
"So, you're from the future, eh? Could you tell us something about it?"
"No, I couldn't. That would be too risky. I've probably already told too much to His Majesty and Pajuka."
"Jenny is going to stay here tonight," announced Pastoria, "and, in the morning, we shall visit Glinda in the Quadling Land."
"This time, I'm going with you," stated Pasulda. "I don't want you getting caught by any more witches."
"Oh, we no longer have to worry about witches. They can be destroyed with mere water."
Jenny wondered if it was good for these people to know how to destroy witches. However, she decided that no harm could come from this little piece of information.
"I'll have a room made up for the lady," said Palunda. The servant then left the Throne Room.
King Pastoria pulled a bell-cord, and the Chief Steward entered the room. His Majesty ordered that dinner be served at once in the Great Banquet Hall. The King then led the way to this Hall, and seated Jenny at his side.
At dinner that night, Pastoria told about what had transpired in the forest. Everyone applauded Jenny for saving the King, who was an extremely popular monarch. The Poet Laureate wrote a poem in her honor, the Royal Declarer of Holidays made the day into Jenny Jump Day, and the Official Presenter of Medals gave three medals to the girl.
Jenny slept in a large and magnificent room of Pastoria's castle that night, and in the morning, after a light breakfast, she, Pastoria, Pajuka, and Pasulda set out to the south. Glinda had not yet come into possession of her palace, and she lived in a small house not far from the green country. The small party reached this dwelling at noon, and Pasulda knocked on the wooden front door.
Glinda herself answered the door, and she warmly greeted the King of Oz and his bodyguard. Pastoria introduced Jenny Jump, and told about Mombi's transformation of Pajuka.
"Mombi's still causing trouble?" asked Glinda.
"Well, not any more," replied the King. "Jenny destroyed Mombi with water."
"How interesting! I never suspected that water would destroy wicked witches. Won't you come in? I was just about to have lunch, and then read from my Book of Records."
The King and his companions followed Glinda into her dining room. There, they noticed that she had another guest, a small leprechaun with a red beard.
"It's Psychopompus!" exclaimed Jenny.
"Ah, a smart one, she is," said the leprechaun. "Knows my name, she does, and never before have I seen her. And I sense somethin' magical about her. Be ye a fairy, my dear?"
"Actually, I'm a half-fairy. I'm from the future, and you gave me my fairy powers."
"An odd story, shore."
"But it's absolutely true," stated Glinda, who had been looking at her famous Truth Pearl, which turned black when a lie was told.
"Can either of you help me to return to my own time?" Jenny asked Glinda and Psychopompus.
"Aye," replied Psychopompus. "If I gave ye your powers, ye can return home by spinnin' around four times on your left foot, an' then stampin' your right foot six times."
"Are you sure it will bring me through time, Psycho?"
"Shore's me beard!"
"Then I'll try it now. Goodbye, everyone!"
"Won't you stay for lunch?" asked Pastoria.
"I'd love to, Your Majesty, but the longer I stay here, the more damage I might do to the space-time continuum."
"Right ye are, my dear," said Psychopompus.
So everyone in the room bade Jenny farewell, and the young Duchess performed the magical dance. After her sixth stamp, she vanished from the room. She had returned to her own time.
Well, actually, it is not "The End." In a later story, I shall tell how Jenny's trip to the past affected the present. So perhaps I had better end this with:
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