ress lived, surrounded by a bevy of the most beautiful maidens
of Oz, gathered from all the four countries of that fairyland as well
as from the magnificent Emerald City itself, which stood in the place
where the four countries cornered. It was considered a great honor to
be allowed to serve the good Sorceress, whose arts of magic were used
only to benefit the Oz people. Glinda was Ozma's most valued servant,
for her knowledge of sorcery was wonderful, and she could accomplish
almost anything that her mistress, the lovely girl Ruler of Oz, wished
her to.

Of all the magical things which surrounded Glinda in her castle, there
was none more marvelous than her Great Book of Records. On the pages
of this Record Book were constantly being inscribed, day by day and
hour by hour, all the important events that happened anywhere in the
known world, and they were inscribed in the book at exactly the moment
the events happened. Every adventure in the Land of Oz and in the big
outside world, and even in places that you and I have never heard of,
were recorded accurately in the Great Book, which never made a mistake
and stated only the exact truth. For that reason, nothing could be
concealed from Glinda the Good, who had only to look at the pages of
the Great Book of Records to know everything that had taken place. That
was one reason she was such a great Sorceress, for the records made her
wiser than any other living person.

This wonderful book was placed upon a big gold table that stood in the
middle of Glinda's drawing room. The legs of the table, which were
incrusted with precious gems, were firmly fastened to the tiled floor,
and the book itself was chained to the table and locked with six stout
golden padlocks, the keys to which Glinda carried on a chain that was
secured around her own neck. The pages of the Great Book were larger
in size than those of an American newspaper, and although they were
exceedingly thin, there were so many of them that they made an
enormous, bulky volume. With its gold cover and gold clasps, the book
was so heavy that three men could scarcely have lifted it. Yet this
morning when Glinda entered her drawing room after breakfast, the good
Sorceress was amazed to discover that her Great Book of Records had
mysteriously disappeared.

Advancing to the table, she found the chains had been cut with some
sharp instrument, and this must have been done while all in the castle
slept. Glinda was sh