erful Wizard could rule the land.
Others favored the amiable Scarecrow. But all admitted that, even though
a tiny little girl, Ozma was a unique leader. She had already proven
that. She had not only created and brought to life a pumpkin-headed man
named Jack, a wooden Sawhorse, and a wobbly monstrosity with the head of
a Gump, but had also gone forth with these unlikely companions and saved
the Land of Oz from a terrible fate.

[Illustration: Elephant, drinking chocolate milk.]

"But she's a little girl!" said the bird. "She's a child! Children
should be allowed to enjoy their childhoods. This kid should learn to
play jacks or skip a rope. She should have some nice paper dolls to
dress up. She should have nice toys. She is too young to be a Queen. Let
her live a happy life for a while before you go throwing all that
responsibility on her. She's only a baby, for crying out loud!"

"She is a cute little thing, though," Elephant remarked, half to
himself.

"Cute?" Tweaty demanded in surprise. "That is hardly a reason to elect
someone leader. Especially over such a vast country as Oz. Maybe if Oz
were a little dinky insignificant country like America or Kansas, it
would be okay. But Oz is so much bigger than those places. Elephant,
don't you think that adorable infant deserves a childhood to enjoy
before getting schlepped into Queenhood unprepared?"

Before Elephant could reply, an unexpected occurrence drove all idle
thoughts from his mind. It all happened in an instant.

From the ends of the earth to the top of the sky, an unearthly roar
issued forth. It was as blood-curdling as a scream, yet as sinister as a
red dragon's growl.

Then, before the horrified trio, a gigantic spider loomed before them.
It looked as if it were hungry, and it was so uncannily big that it
could easily have devoured all three of them in an instant! It might
have, too, had it not been distracted by the sight of a small yellow cat
which was darting by. It took the feline in its massive claws and raised
her to its mouth.

CHAPTER 3

THE FOREST MONSTER

Elephant stampeded frantically toward the scene, fearing for the life of
the cat.

"We'll need all the help we can get," Elephant said grimly. "That animal
is big! But it has poor Fisher the Cat. We can't let it eat her up!"

"Why not?" asked Nibbles.

The Elephant slung himself against the Monster's leg as hard as he
could, but the creature did not even seem to notice. In a