ack, sir!" This last remark the Professor did not hear,
for he was already half way down the college steps.

"Ozma will be delighted with the idea. How clever I am!" he murmured,
twirling his antennae and walking rapidly down the pleasant blue
lane.

The Professor, whose College of Art and Athletic Perfection is in the
southwestern part of the Munchkin country, is the biggest bug in Oz,
or in anyplace else, for that matter. He has made education painless
by substituting school pills for books. His students take Latin,
history and spelling pills; they swallow knowledge of every kind with
ease and pleasure and spend the rest of their time in sport. No
wonder he is so well thought of in Oz! No wonder he thinks so well of
himself!

Swinging his cane jauntily, the Professor hurried toward the yellow
brick road that leads to the Emerald City, and by nightfall had
reached the lovely capital of Oz.

Oz!--that marvelous country where no one grows old--where animals and
birds talk as sensibly as people, and adventures happen every day.
Indeed, of all fairylands in the world, Oz is the most delightful,
and of all fairy cities, the Emerald City is the most beautiful. A
soft green light shone for miles about, and the gemmed turrets and
spires of the palace flashed more brightly than the stars. But its
loveliness was familiar to Professor Wogglebug, and without a pause
he proceeded to Ozma's palace and was at once admitted to the great
hall.

A roar of merriment greeted his ears. Ozma, the lovely girl ruler of
Oz, was having a party, and the room was full of most surprising
people--surprising to some, that is, but old friends to most of us.

Jack, holding tightly to his pumpkin head, was running as fast as his
wooden feet and wobbly legs would take him from Dorothy. A game of
blind-man's-buff was in full swing, and Scraps and Tik-Tok, the
Scarecrow and Nick Chopper, the Glass Cat and the Cowardly Lion, the
Wizard of Oz and the wooden Sawhorse, Cap'n Bill and Betsy Bobbin,
Billina and the Hungry Tiger were tumbling over each other in an
effort to keep away from the blindfolded little girl.

But Dorothy was too quick for them. With a sudden whirl, she spun
'round and grasped a coatsleeve.

"The Scarecrow!" she laughed triumphantly. "I can tell by the way he
skwoshes--and now _he's_ it!"

"I'm always _it!"_ chuckled the droll person. "But--hah! Behold the
learned Professor standing so aloofly in our midst."

No one had not