Copyright (C) 2003 by James L. Fuller
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any
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Fuller's Publishing
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Lefty has a mirror twin called Righty. That is, if Lefty looks in a mirror, he sees what his twin looks like, for Lefty and Righty are black leather gloves.
Sometimes Righty likes to play tricks on Lefty. He sometimes replaces the mirror with an empty picture frame. Then, when Lefty tries to see himself in the mirror, Righty just imitates Lefty's movements. This goes on for several moments until Righty gets tired of it, and finally sticks his tongue out at Lefty. Of course Lefty then gets mad at Righty for fooling him.
Lefty and Righty have a nice master named Jim.
The main duties of Lefty and Righty are to keep Jim's hands warm in the cold winter weather in Eastern Oregon. Some years, the winters are very cold and they get worn many times during the winters. Other winters are light and they do not get worn very often.
This year was a light winter.
Lefty was getting bored of just laying around day after day. He wanted to do more work.
When Lefty did get to work, it was generally just for Jim's short trip to work. Once at work, Jim just left Lefty and his bother on the passenger's seat of the car for the rest of the day.
Finally, Lefty just could not lay there any longer doing nothing. He had to speak his mind.
"I am bored!" announced Lefty.
"It is a clear day. The sun is out," stated Righty, "so, why are you bored?"
"We just lay around here most of the day," answered Lefty. "I need a vacation. I need an adventure."
"Well, maybe we will have a heavy winter next year," responded Righty, as he tried to cheer Lefty up.
"I do not want to lie around waiting for another year," remarked Lefty. "I need an adventure now!"
"Be careful what you wish for," warned Righty. "After all, many people do not survive their adventures."
"Gloves do not last forever," stated Lefty."We need to have our adventures soon or we will be too worn out to have one."
"Speak for yourself," said Righty. "I am content with my life as it is."
"Be that as it may, I still want some adventures," insisted Lefty.
"Would you please just be quiet and keep your thoughts to yourself," requested Righty.
"All right, I will do that, but I may not include you in my adventure," answered Lefty.
"Fine!" said Righty.
"Fine!" agreed Lefty.
Lefty continued to think about how to have an adventure. What was it he had heard Jim talk about? Oh yes! It was the Land of Oz.
If only I could have an adventure in the Land of Oz, thought Lefty. How great it would be to move and walk and maybe even be able to talk to people.
Just then a purple fog formed in the car.
"Hey Lefty, what are you doing?" demanded Righty. "Whatever it is, stop it!"
The fog got thicker and thicker.
The fog got so thick that Righty could not see Lefty anymore. All Righty could see was solid purple.
"Lefty! Lefty! Do you hear me?" continued a panicked Righty.
"Oh boy! You are going to be in trouble when Jim sees this mess," added Righty."Please Lefty, would you speak to me?"
There was no answer.
A few seconds later the fog started to clear.
Righty looked around but did not see Lefty.
"Lefty! This is not funny," announced Righty. "You better come out from where you are hiding."
Righty waited several minutes, but Lefty still did not reappear.
"Oh my!" exclaimed Righty, to no one in particular. "If Lefty does not come back by the time Jim gets off work, I will be in trouble for not keeping track of him. Oh me! Oh my! Oh me!"
Righty just sat there in fear of the moment when Jim would finish work and come out to the car.
"Oh if only Lefty would reappear by then,"
cried Righty.
When the purple fog cleared, Lefty noticed that he was no longer sitting on the passenger's seat of the car. In fact he was no longer in the car. Being face down, he could not be sure where he was. In order to see where he was, he needed to turn himself over. To do that he needed to push off with his thumb. This moving was only allowed if no humans were watching him. Amazingly he actually moved his thumb and succeeded in turning himself over and fell off what he was on.
"I-eeee," screamed Lefty as he flew through the air and landed on the floor.
Fortunately he landed on a soft rug. Even so, it knocked the wind out of him.
He had been laying face down on top of a cardboard box, in a small room. There was a door at the side of the room.
Lefty did not know it, but he was in the receiving room of the Borrowing Shop of Oz.(1)
"Help! Help!" shouted Lefty. "I have been glove napped! Does anyone hear me?"
"What is all the racket?" demanded a strange man as he entered the room. He was the clerk for the Borrowing Shop. Of course the clerk was wearing the traditional outfit for a Gillikin man. It consisted of purple coat, purple knee breeches, black boots with curled up toes, and a pointed purple hat with a broad brim with bells around the rim. After all, the Borrowing Shop was located in the far north of the Land of Oz in Gillikin Country.
"You can hear me?" responded a surprised Lefty. After all, Lefty knew people could not hear gloves talk!
"Of course I can hear you," replied the clerk. "Why would I not be able to hear you?"
"Well, no person has ever heard me before," explained Lefty. "What makes you different?"
"You new arrivals are all alike," complained the clerk. "You are in the Land of Oz. Here in Oz just about anything can talk to anything else. Why else do you have a mouth?"
"The Land of Oz, you said," repeated Lefty.
"That is correct," answered the clerk.
"I have a mouth?" questioned Lefty.
"Yes, and also two eyes," said the clerk.
"I did it! I am going to get my wish for a vacation in Oz," announced Lefty very happily. "Which way is it to the Emerald City?"
"Not so fast," said the clerk. "First let me check your tag."
"What tag?"
"The one attached to your side," pointed the clerk. "Let me see, it says you must be placed in the transmitting room exactly twenty-eight hours from now. So, you will be leaving Oz at four o'clock tomorrow afternoon."
"I do not understand," said Lefty.
"You are only visiting Oz for twenty-eight hours," announced the clerk. "After that, you will be returned to where you came from."
"What if I am not ready to leave Oz at that time?" inquired Lefty.
"It does not matter," announced the clerk. "The law is the law. Now, let me place you on one of the shop's shelves and see who wants to use you."
"I want to see Oz, not sit on a shelf," shouted Lefty, as he dashed between the clerk's legs, and out the door.
Lefty found himself in a small showroom. He hid under a shelf from the clerk. Lefty didn't notice it, but there were a boy and girl in the next aisle. They were Jessie and Maria. Their parents worked in the palace in the Emerald City.
A few minutes passed before Lefty had a chance to slip out the front door of the shop as a customer left.
Lefty paused and looked around. The road was a light purple in color. The trees, grass, birds, and houses were purple. Most of the people wore purple outfits. What a fun country it was to have so much use of the color purple.
"Wow! This is great," said Lefty. "I am in a country that likes everything colored purple, I can talk, and move about. What a great vacation!"
"Whom are you talking to?" requested a woman wearing a long purple dress, and carrying a basket of goods.
"What?" responded Lefty as he looked up at her.
"What a nice black glove you are," stated the woman. "Are you lost?"
"No, I am not lost. I am on vacation," responded Lefty.
"I am sure you are lost," repeated the woman, and she bent over and picked up Lefty and placed him in her basket. "Now that is better, is it not? I think I will take you home."
Poor Lefty tried to resist the woman, but she was too strong for him. Finally, he just laid down in the basket and watched the scenery go by as the woman walked through the town and out into the country.
The woman was met by her husband who was driving a wagon. She climbed into the front seat of the wagon, next to her husband and held the basket on her lap.
Her husband started the wagon moving. He turned the wagon south onto a road that led to the far off Emerald City.
If they were going that far, it would take three days of fast driving. Actually, the couple lived just ten miles down the road. They traveled the first eight miles quietly and then entered a forest.
"Well dear," said the husband, "Did you find anything interesting in town?"
"No, I did not," responded the woman. "I just got a few sewing supplies."
"What about me?" asked Lefty. "Do I look like sewing supplies?"
"I forgot about you," stated the woman. "Dear, I found this nice left-handed glove outside the Borrowing Shop."
"You found a glove," remarked the husband. "What good is one glove?"
"It is such a pretty glove," said the woman. "I am sure I can find some use for it." She slipped the glove on her hand. Suddenly Lefty found that he could no longer move. His eyes and mouth disappeared.
"Don't be foolish, woman," said the husband. "You have too much useless stuff at home now. Just throw the glove away."
The lady took off the glove and started to throw it away. Lefty's eyes and mouth reappeared. He could talk and move once more.
"Just a minute!" interrupted Lefty. "I think I should have something to say about this."
"No, you do not!" announced the woman, and tossed Lefty off the wagon.
Lefty landed with a thump!
That was a close call, thought Lefty. So, far his vacation was not going as he had
expected it to. Here he was dumped by the side of the road in some forest. He started walking
south with no idea where he was or how far it was to the Emerald City.
Lefty walked for what seemed like forever. He was not making much progress with his little steps. After all, he did not have long legs. He was very tired by the time he reached a short sign post pointing to a path to the right of the road.
Looking up at the sign post, Lefty read, "Glove Hollow 1000 hand spans."
"What a funny name for a place," thought Lefty. "I wonder what it is? It isn't far from here."
So, Lefty turned right and started walking. It was getting darker as Lefty walked along the path deeper into the forest. A few minutes more of walking and he thought he saw something white moving in the distance. Just a few minutes more and he would get there. Suddenly he found out what the white something was.
"Halt!" commanded two white gloves. "Where do you think you are going?"
clear:left>"If you please, gentlemen, I would like to see Glove Hollow," responded a startled Lefty. "Who are you to question me?"
"We are the traffic police," stated one of the white gloves. "When we say for you to halt, you halt. Now stop and let the cross traffic go."
"What cross traffic?" asked Lefty. "I do not see any cross traffic."
"It does not matter. When we say halt, you halt!" repeated the gloves.
"Okay! I am halted," announced Lefty.
The two white gloves turn ninety degrees, blew the whistle, and shouted, "Halt!" to the imaginary traffic.
"Well, come on. Hurry up, you are holding up traffic," said one of the gloves.
"What?" questioned Lefty.
"It is your turn to move. Please clear the intersection," insisted the other glove.
A confused Lefty walked on through the intersection and continued further into the woods. He had not gone far when he heard another shout.
"You dare to insult me!" said a metal glove or gauntlet. "I shall challenge you to a duel."
"But, I have not insulted you," protested Lefty. "I do not even know you."
"It does not matter," said the gauntlet, "but if you must know, I am Sir Gauntlet, defender of justice, protector of the weak and poor."
"I must keep my knightly skills sharp. Therefore I challenge you to a duel," continued Sir Gauntlet.
"All I am doing is trying to find Glove Hollow," insisted Lefty. "I do not want to fight a duel. I do not know how to duel."
"It does not matter," stated Sir Gauntlet. "I will just have to teach how to duel. It will just take a few minutes. It is the best thing that could happen to you. Everyone needs to know how to duel."
"Thank you, but if it is all the same to you, I will just be on my way," announced Lefty as he turned and hurried away.
"Come back, you coward!" called Sir Gauntlet. "I have not finished with you yet."
"Yes, you have," shouted Lefty over his shoulder. He hurried further along the path.
"Do not concern yourself with Sir Gauntlet," said a woman's voice. "He is really a nice glove once you get to know him."
"I do not think I would live long enough to ever get to know him," responded Lefty.
Lefty looked around and saw a long pink silk glove off to his left.
"Are you the one that was just talking to me?" asked Lefty.
"But of course it was I, darling!" said the pink glove.
"Wow! You are tall and pretty," exclaimed Lefty. "What are you used for?"
"I am worn to formal occasions," announced the stylist glove. "I am from high-society. You should go out with me sometime, sweety."
"I don't know about that," said Lefty. "What is high-society?"
"Why high-society is getting to attend grand events. It includes going to proms, balls, operas, premiers, and other formal affairs," replied the silk glove.
"I am just an outdoors glove for cold days," stated Lefty. "I do not think I would fit into a formal occasion. Please excuse me. I am on my way to the Emerald City."
"The Emerald City, the palace, formal balls with Ozma," cried the silk glove. "Now, those were the good old days."
"You do not need to go to balls to show you have good taste," announced a white colored lace glove. "All you need to do is have tea every afternoon. Please join me for tea tomorrow."
"I do not think I will be here for tea time, tomorrow," stated Lefty. "I am on vacation and am on my way to the Emerald City."
"Well, they have known Dorothy and Ozma to serve tea," said the lacy glove. "Perhaps you can have tea with them."
"Perhaps I can," agreed Lefty. "Bye! It was nice meeting you."
Lefty walked on along the path. Next he met a glove with some fingers missing.
"Hello," greeted Lefty. "You must have had a hard life?"
"Oh?" replied the glove with the missing fingers.
"I mean, well look. You are missing two fingers and a thumb," stated Lefty.
"Well, the two missing fingers and a thumb are necessary for a good bowler," explained the glove. "That allows the bowler to place two fingers and a thumb in the bowling ball."
"Bowler?" asked Lefty.
"A bowler throws a bowling ball down an alley and tries to knock down ten pins," said the bowling glove. "Surly you have seen a bowling alley and a game of bowling?"
"Well, no," answered Lefty. "I have never seen a bowling alley. Do you have one here?"
"You need a person to wear me to do the bowling," responded the bowling glove. "I believe they have a bowling alley in the palace in the Emerald City. You really should try bowling. Then you would get to hear the sound of a crack as a ball hits a pin."
"Perhaps I can visit the bowling alley when I get to the Emerald City," suggested Lefty. "So long. It was nice meeting you."
Lefty continued walking down the path. Then he saw a funny three finger tip glove.
"Hello, there!" called the three finger tip glove. "My name is Archie."
"Hello. I am Lefty," responded Lefty. "You are an unusual glove. What are you used for?"
"Why I am an archery glove, and I am used to release arrows from a bow. It is great fun to hear the zing as the arrow is pushed forward and flies though the air."
"I would like to see that," attempted Lefty. "Can you show me how that is done?"
"Well, I would like to, but I need a person to wear me and a bow and arrow," answered the glove. "So, I cannot do it right now."
"Maybe I can see that next time I visit here," said Lefty as he turned to leave. "It was nice to have met you."
Lefty walked on down the path. Then he met a tired looking glove.
"Why do you look so tired?" asked Lefty.
"You would look tired too if you worked all day washing dishes and cleaning things," stated the washing glove. "Have you ever washed dishes?"
"Well, no!" replied Lefty. "Dipping me in water would ruin me."
"Then I do not suppose you would help me with my work," wished the washing glove. "Well, you can just run along and play while some of us gloves get some work done."
"I am sorry. I cannot help you with your work," stated Lefty. "I will just leave quietly so you can continue working. Have a nice day."
"You best be careful," called the washing glove, "there is no telling what sort of strange gloves you might meet further down that path."
"What could be more strange than the gloves I have already met?" Lefty asked himself, as
he continued walking down the path. "After all, I have seen metal gloves, silk gloves, gloves with
missing fingers, and gloves with only finger tips."
Lefty walked along for some time without meeting anyone. Just when he thought there were no more gloves, he heard someone say:
"I am the pretty side. People buy an oven mitt for its pretty side."
"Is someone there?" called Lefty, as he looked all around himself.
"Why I am here," replied a pretty red oven glove.
"Don't you think I am pretty?"
"Yes, you are pretty," agreed Lefty.
"She may be pretty, but people buy oven gloves for the working side," said another voice.
"I do not understand," said Lefty as he looked for the other voice. "Where are you?"
"I am right here," cried the voice. "Come on pretty. Let him see me."
The pretty glove turned around to reveal another gray glove, the working side of the mitten.
"While people might like looking at the pretty side of me, I am the side that keeps them from burning themselves," stated the gray glove. "I am the real reason for buying an oven mitten. You do agree with me, don't you?"
"I agree that you protect people from being burned," said a tactful Lefty.
"But people do buy the glove for my pretty side," insisted the pretty side of the oven mitt.
"Oh, yes," agreed Lefty "People do like your pretty side."
"See, I am more important," announced the pretty side.
"I didn't say that," insisted Lefty.
"See here, he says I am the more important side," stated the working side of the glove.
"I did not say that either," relied Lefty.
"Well, which of us is more important?" requested both sides of the oven mitten, together.
"Oh dear. Look what time it is," remarked Lefty. "I really must be going."
As Lefty hurried down the path, he could still hear the two sides of the oven mitten arguing over who was more important.
"Greetings," called a white rubber glove, "are you ready to have your appendix removed?"
"Me?" questioned Lefty.
"Yes, you," insisted the rubber glove. "I have some spare time so let us remove your appendix. Come on over to this flat rock. We can use it for an operating table."
"I do not think so," announced Lefty. "First of all, I do not have an appendix. Secondly, this is no place for an operation."
"We will just have to make do with what we have," stated the rubber glove.
"Where are you surgical tools? How will you make everything sterile?" requested Left. "I think it is time for me to leave."
Lefty run down the path and bumped into a pair of red globes.
"Watch where you are going," said one of the gloves. "Are you looking for a fight? If so, you have come to the right place."
"I am sorry," apologized Lefty. "I was just trying to get away from that rubber glove. He wanted to take out my appendix."
"If you knew how to box, the other gloves would leave you along," assure the right boxing glove. "Come on, go a round or two with us. We need a sparing partner."
"I do not want to box with you," replied Lefty. "However, I think I know a glove who would like to fight with you."
"Who?" requested the boxing gloves.
"I believe he is called Sir Gauntlet," answered Lefty. "You will find him just up this path."
"I do not think that is a good idea," stated the left boxing glove.
"Why not?" asked Lefty.
"Because Sir Gauntlet is right-handed. So are all the gloves you met so far," explained the right-handed glove.
"Those gloves do not like or trust left-handed gloves," added the left-handed boxing glove.
"It takes two gloves, a left one and a right one to box," added the right-handed glove. "So, my friend and I try to avoid those right-handed gloves."
"By the way, you are a left-handed glove," stated the left boxing glove. "You would not be welcome by the right-handed gloves for long."
"You are welcome to stay with us, if you like," add the gloves together.
"I will consider that offer," said Lefty, and he turned to leave.
Lefty walked on down the path. He traveled quite some distance before meeting anyone else. In fact, he thought maybe he had finished walking through all of Glove Hollow.
Then he saw to more gloves.
Actually they were black mittens.
"Hello," called Lefty as he approached the mittens.
"Hello," replied the mittens. "Have you seen our master?"
"I do not believe I have," said Lefty. "What is your master's name?"
"Her name is Emma," answered the right-hand mitten. "We got separated from her about one-hundred years ago."
"I am sure by now your master has forgotten about you," said Lefty. "Why not look for a new master?"
"The only way for us to get a new master is for our old master to give us to someone else," stated the left-handed mitten. "Until that happens, or if we find our master, we just have no purpose in life."
"Surely you are happy living with all these other gloves?" inquired Lefty.
"Happy?" questioned the mittens together. "Did you notice that all these gloves talk about the things they could do if only a person was wearing them? Without a master, gloves have no purpose."
"You make it sound like I should want to go home to my master," remarked Lefty.
"If you can, you would be luckier than we are," said the mittens.
"I will think about what you said," Lefty assured the mittens. "It was nice meeting you."
Lefty continued walking down the path, but he did not meet any more gloves. After walking on for another hour, the path came back to the road. Lefty had nothing better to do, so he just walked on down the road headed for the far away Emerald City.
As Lefty continued walking down the road, he came to another sign on the left side of the road. He walked off the left side of the road so he could read the sign better. It said, "Welcome to Hugger's Haven" and had an arrow pointing down a path on the left.
While Lefty was reading the sign, a woman turned into the path for Hugger's Haven and stopped.
"Oh, are you going to Hugger's Haven too?" asked the woman.
"Well, I am not sure," responded Lefty. "What is Hugger's Haven?"
"I will take you there," offered the woman. Before Lefty knew what was happening, she bent down and scooped him up in her hands.
Of course the woman had much longer legs than Lefty and so could walk much faster than Lefty. The two of them soon reach Hugger's Haven.
Lefty looked around Hugger's Haven and saw many persons standing around hugging each other. Some of them were hugging in groups. A few people were even hugging some of the near by trees.
"Why are all these people hugging each other?" asked Lefty.
"They hug each other because it feels good," stated the woman. "If you like someone, it feels good to hug them. If someone is sad or discouraged, giving them a hug makes them feel better."
"Here, let me give you a hug," requested the woman. She took Lefty in both her hands and pressed him against her chest.
Poor Lefty felt crashed. He could not move or speak.
"There, now do you feel better?" asked the woman, as she released Lefty and placed him on the ground.
"I could not move or breathe," gasped Lefty. "I had all the air knocked out of me. Is that supposed to be fun?"
"Oh dear! Perhaps I over did it," remarked the woman. "Let us try it a little simpler. Suppose you try to give my hand a hug."
The lady put Lefty on a tree stump and than held her hand out to him.
Lefty hugged her hand.
"Okay. That was better," admitted Lefty. "Now, if you are careful, you can hug me back by giving me a squeeze."
The woman hugged Lefty back.
"Now that was much better!" announced Lefty. "I just wish I could really hug a person."
"That can be arranged," stated the woman. "Bill, can you come over here for a moment?"
Bill came over to see what the woman wanted. The woman put Lefty on her left hand and gave Bill a big hug. Bill hugged the woman back.
"Well, Lefty, was that good for you?" inquired the woman.
"Oh that felt much better," admitted Lefty. "So, it seems I need a person to wear me to really do a good job of hugging."
"Yes," agreed Bill and the woman. "A glove hugs better when it has a person wearing it!"
"Come on, Lefty," invited Bill, "I will wear you and let you experience some more hugging, and group hugging and perhaps even hug a tree."
The woman handed Lefty to Bill. Bill placed Lefty on his left hand.
Bill and Lefty went around Hugger's Haven hugging men, women, and children. It was fun for Lefty who even got to pat a few people on their backs.
They even did a victory hug where they jumped up and down while hugging. It was exciting!
Next Bill and Lefty got together with five other persons and did a group hug. Then they turned it into a group victory hug with some of the people jumping up and down as they did the group hug. Everyone enjoyed themselves!
Finally, Bill and Lefty walked over to some trees. Bill showed Lefty how to hug a tree. Bill told Lefty that they did this because they were so happy to have the trees which made their lives better.
Then Lefty got to hug a tree with Bill's help.
Bill walked Lefty back out to the road and saw Lefty off on his walk to the Emerald City.
Lefty was walking down the middle of the road not paying attention to anything. Suddenly something knocked him flat on his face.
"Hey you!" yelled Lefty as he got up to brush himself off. "Kindly look where you are running."
"What?" cried the unknown stranger. He came to a halt. Turned around. Then he walked back to where Lefty was standing.
"Oh my!" exclaimed Lefty as he got his first look at the biggest tiger he had ever seen.
"I am sorry I ran over you," stated the tiger. "I did not mean to. It is just I though I saw a fat baby just up ahead, and I love to eat fat babies."
"Eat fat babies!" cried Lefty. "How could you do such a thing? That is awful."
"Well, actually I have never eaten a fat baby," admitted the tiger, "but I always though they would taste delicious!"
"You cannot go around hunting fat babies either," insisted Lefty. "If you do, people will want you killed. You would not like that."
"No!" agreed the tiger. "I would not like to be killed."
"So, you will now stop hunting fat babies," suggested Lefty.
"Okay, I will stop hunting fat babies," stated the tiger.
"Good. Now, which way is the Emerald City?" asked Lefty.
"Why it is in the direction I am traveling in," announced the Hungry Tiger. "Say, I wonder how an old glove would taste?"
"I would taste terrible," Lefty assured the tiger. "Can you talk about something other than eating?"
"Like what?" asked the tiger.
"Like am I all right and maybe offer me a ride to the Emerald City," suggested Lefty.
"Are you all right? Would you like a ride to the Emerald City?" asked the tiger.
"I will be fine as soon as I brush myself off," said Lefty. "And, yes I could use a ride to the Emerald city."
"Just get on my back and we can be on our way," replied the tiger.
"But you are so tall that I cannot reach your back," stated Lefty.
"Can you reach my tail?" request the tiger, as he swished it back and forth.
"Yes, I think I can reach it," answered Lefty.
"Well then, just grab hold of my tail and I will swing you up to my back," called the tiger.
Lefty walked up to the tiger and grabbed his tail. The tiger swung Lefty up onto his back. Lefty got a firm hold on the tiger's back. The tiger started to run down the road to the Emerald City.
"This is great!" cried Lefty. "We should get to the Emerald City in no time."
"It will take an hour or two," stated the Tiger. "Why do you want to go to the Emerald City?"
"I am on vacation and I want to see the Emerald City," replied Lefty. "By the way, where are you taking me in the Emerald City?"
"I am going to the palace," said the tiger. "You can see much of the city as we go to the palace."
"I hear there is a bowling alley in the palace," said Lefty.
"I believe there is," agreed the Tiger.
"A bowling glove in Glove Hollow suggested that I would like to see a bowling game," added Lefty. "Have you seen a bowling match?"
"No, I have not," said the tiger. "However, maybe we can go look for the bowling alley."
"Great!" responded Lefty.
The two of them continued traveling down the road. The tiger made very good time.
The sun was setting as they approached the fields of flowers around the Emerald City.
Since they were coming from Gillikin Country, the flowers featured the color purple. There were purple Tulips, Globe Thistles, purple Cape Hyacinths, Saphir Gladiolus, Laura Tall Hybrid Phloxs, Lilac Time Dahlias, Celestial Starburst Dahlias, Grape Hyacinths, and many, many more purple flowers.
It wasn't long before the light of the Emerald City shown as a green color in the distance.
A few minutes later they approached the gate to the city. The guard at the gate to the city took one look at the running tiger and swung the gate wide open and got out of the tiger's way.
As Lefty and the tiger ran through the streets of the city everyone moved aside and let them pass. It wasn't until they reached the palace that anyone challenged them.
"Halt!" called the palace servant. "Where are you going?"
"We want to go to the bowling alley," stated the tiger.
"That is corrected," added Lefty. "Where is the bowling alley?"
"I believe it is in the basement," replied the servant. "Who are you?"
"This is my new friend, Lefty," said the tiger. "Will it be all right if we visit the bowling alley?"
"Any friend of yours is okay," announced a shaking servant. "Please go wherever you like."
"Thank you," responded the tiger. He proceeded up the palace steps and into the palace.
The tiger walked down one hall and up another. He turned right and then left and left again. He went down some stairs, through the kitchen where he grabbed a whole chicken and ate it. He offered Lefty something to eat, but Lefty said he did not eat.
Lefty and the tiger continued on through a door, around a corner and down one more stair case. Finally after traveling along another long hallway, the tiger announced that they had reached the bowling alley.
Lefty and the Hungry Tiger entered the bowling alley. The Wizard and Ozma were just warming up for a game.
Ozma walked over to the ball rack and picked out a ball that fit. She carried the ball to the left lane and position herself to throw the ball. As she looked down at the ball, she saw two closed eyes and a mouth.
Lefty saw the ball's eyes and mouth.
"Does everything here in Oz have eyes and a mouth?" request Lefty.
"Just about everything does," answered the tiger.
Ozma swung the ball back and threw it down the alley.
"Look out friends!" said a voice in front of her. "Here comes a gutter ball!"
As the ball bounced into the gutter and rolled passt the pins, the pins yelled, "Gutter ball! This is going to be an easy night."
"What's going on?" questioned Lefty.
"Being this is Oz, the bowling balls and pins can tell you what you are doing wrong when you bowl," stated the Tiger. "They know what they are talking about."
Ozma's ball rolled itself into the ball return elevator. The pins set themselves up for another frame.
The Wizard, who was wearing a bowling glove on his right hand, then went over and selected his own ball. When he held it in his hands, he too saw two eyes and a mouth.
The ball opened its eyes and said, "Hello, care to bowl a game?"
"Yes, but first let us warn up," replied the Wizard.
"This is going to be a fair match without the use of magic, isn't it?" inquired Ozma.
The Wizard assured everyone, "Of course. It will be a fair game with no magic being used to affect the out come of the game."
Ozma's ball rolled down the center of the alley, as it approached the head and number two pins, they yelled, "Strike! No, make that a Spare!" Then the pins moved out of the way of the ball and all fell down.
The Wizard threw his ball down the other alley. As the ball approached the head pin, it announced, "6- 7-10 split!" The pins got out of the way of the ball and all fell down except for the 6, 7, and 10 pins.
"Are you sure that's right?" questioned Wizard. "I have never picked up that split."
"Let your ball help you with the split," suggested Ozma.
"Okay ball, how do I pick up the split?" asked the Wizard.
"You want to move a little off the center of the lane and then turn a little and to face the ten-pin," replied the ball.
"Like this?" asked the Wizard as he followed the directions.
"Great! Now, just throw the ball straight," finished the ball.
The Wizard swung and released the ball. It rolled downed the alley headed for the 10-pin. Just as the ball approached the 6-pin, the 6 and 10-pins got out of the way of the ball. The 6-pin walked over and tapped the 7-pin. Then they shouted, "Spare!"
"Just a minute!" called the Wizard. "How do I know if I really made that spare? The ball never touched any of the pins. Please set up the 6, 7, and 10-pins and let the ball actually hit them."
The pins did as the Wizard requested. He took his ball, turned and faced the 10-pin.
The Wizard swung and released the ball. It rolled downed the alley headed for the 10-pin. It just brushed the six-pin which bounced over and tapped the seven-pin, as the ball hit the 10-pin.
"Now, do you believe you made the spare?" asked the 10-pin.
"I did it!" exclaimed the Wizard. "I did it. I did it!"
The Wizard and Ozma warmed up for several more minutes.
Before the match got under way, Ozma had a chat with the balls and pins. They all agreed to let the ball takes its normal path and the pins were not to fall down unless struck by a ball or pin. They were, however, allowed to talk and give advice.
The first game started off very well for both Ozma and the Wizard. They each bowled the best games of their lives. Each had many strikes and was able to pick up several spares.
Ozma bowled a 210 game, beating the Wizard by ten pins.
The second game of the match saw the Wizard bowl a 215, beating Ozma by ten pins.
The final game of the match was very close. At the end of the match, Ozma and the Wizard were tied with 179 each. The match was a draw! Over all they both enjoyed the bowling match.
"Well, that was fun to watch, but I wish I could bowl a game," stated Lefty.
"Maybe you can," said the Wizard. "If you will just let me wear you for a few minutes, we can bowl another game."
"Can we?" called Lefty. "That would be great!"
"I will have to bowl left handed," remarked the Wizard, as he took off his right handed bowling glove and placed Lefty on his left hand.
The Wizard picked out a new ball that fit when he wore Lefty. Next, the Wizard walked over to the right-hand lane and threw the ball down the lane.
Lefty and the Wizard watched the ball go down the lane and strike the pins between the one and two pin and finally knocked over all but the six and ten-pins.
On the next roll of the ball, the Wizard picked up the six and 10-pins for a spare.
The game continued with several more spares, two strikes, and a couple of open frames.
"I hope that gives you some idea of what it is like to bowl," remarked the Wizard after the game was over.
"That was fun. I will have to try it again some time," replied a happy Lefty. "This is more like the vacation I wanted."
Lefty and the Wizard bowled another game, this time against Ozma.
Ozma won the game by 25 pins, but Lefty still had a great time. The Wizard claimed bowling left-handed was more difficult than his usual right-handed bowling.
It was getting late and the Wizard and Ozma wanted to go to bed. Before doing so, they asked Lefty if there was anything else they could do for him.
Lefty suggested that it would be nice to have tea at the palace. Ozma and the Wizard invited Lefty for three o'clock tea tomorrow.
Lefty said he would try to be at tea tomorrow. Ozma and the Wizard went to bed. Lefty and the Hungry Tiger went for a tour of the palace. Of course the Hungry Tiger visited the palace kitchen once more.
The cooks fed the tiger some uncooked meat. The kitchen was full of delicious smells of fresh baked goods for tomorrow.
The tiger took Lefty to meet the Cowardly Lion, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, the Patchwork Girl, Eureka who was Dorothy's pink cat, and the Glass Cat which you could see through and see its red heart and pink brains.
The Cowardly Lion and Eureka were like the Hungry Tiger and liked to hunt and explore at night. The Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, Patchwork Girl, and Glass Cat didn't require sleep.
The eight of them talked until dawn.
At last, Lefty asked if he could go explore some of the south of Oz.
The Hungry Tiger was getting sleepy, so he took Lefty out to the street outside of the
palace and found a farm wagon that had just delivered fresh produce to the city. The farm offered
to give Lefty a ride south.
Lefty thanked the tiger for the ride and tour of the palace. He got on the wagon.
The farmer drove the wagon though the empty streets of the Emerald City. Once outside the city, the farmer turned the wagon onto the road headed south into Quadling Country. He was dressed in the red outfit common to people from Quadling Country.
As the sun was raising, Lefty saw the beautiful fields of flowers that surround the Emerald City. As they headed south through the fields of flowers there were all types of flowers that featured the color red such as roses, tulips, geraniums, anthuriums, dahlias, begonias, gladiolus, phloxes, potentillas, and carnations.
Some humming birds and bees were already busy drinking the nectar from the open flowers.
It took a half hour just to drive through the fields of flowers. By then, the sun was up and it looked like a beautiful day.
"Why do you want a ride to the south of Oz?" requested the farmer.
"I am on vacation, and I want to see as much of the Land of Oz as I can," responded Lefty. "This is so different from the cold winter weather in eastern Oregon this time of year."
"So, you are from Oregon," stated the farmer.
"That is correct," said Lefty.
"I hope you enjoy your visit here," said the farmer.
A few minutes later, the wagon approached a forest. The trees near the road swung their branches at the wagon and tried to keep it from entering the forest. However, they could not reach the wagon.
"Why are those trees swinging their branches at us?" asked Lefty.
"Those are the fighting trees," answered the framer. "They do not like visitors to enter their forest. Fortunately, their branches are kept cut back from the road."
The wagon traveled into the forest.
After several hours the wagon passed the turnoff to Cuttenclip Village. It was a village made up of live paper doll people.
The farmer drove on for some time. Next the wagon reached the turnoff for Fuddlecumjig.
Lefty asked if they could visit it.
The farmer said he had too much work to do, but would be willing to let Lefty off at the junction.
Lefty thanked the farmer but decided to stay with the farmer.
The wagon traveled further south. It came to the path that led to the farmers home.
Lefty got off the wagon and watch the farm turn toward his farm. Then Lefty starting walking down the road.
Lefty continued on south from Fuddlecumjig. Within a mile, he met a kangaroo crying beside the road.(2)
"What is the matter?" inquired Lefty. "Why are you crying?"
"I am crying because I have lost my mittens. Again!" responded the kangaroo. "Without them, I might catch a cold from the cold weather, or if it is sunny I might sunburn my hands."
"When did you lose you mittens?" asked Lefty.
"Why it must have been over one-hundred years ago," stated the kangaroo. "It was just after Dorothy sent me home without my first pair. My mother was very upset about it, but did give me another pair of mittens. Now, I have lost then and I am afraid to go home until I find my mittens."
"Maybe I can help you find your mittens," suggested Lefty.
"Okay. Where do we look?" requested the kangaroo.
"Where do you last remember having the mittens?" asked Lefty.
"When I left home that cold morning about one-hundred years ago," answered the kangaroo.
"When did you first miss your mittens?"
"A couple hours later, just after I ate a snack in Fuddlecumjig," said the kangaroo, "Grandmother Gnit was kind enough to make me some hot chocolate. She also was the one who made both sets of my mittens."
"Well, naturally you took off your mittens before you ate your snack," said Lefty. "Do you remember if you put the mittens back on after your snack?"
"Well, no I do not," answered the kangaroo.
"I think we should go look for them at Grandmother Gnit's," suggested Lefty. "By the way, my name is Lefty. What is your name?"
"I am Emma," stated the kangaroo. "However, we do not want to go search Grandmother Gnit's place for my mittens."
"Why not?"
"Because we would have to tell her I lost them," said Emma. "I just cannot tell her that."
"So, you cannot go home and you cannot tell Grandmother Gnit you have lost the mittens she made you. Is that correct?"
"Yes," agreed Emma.
"Oh, dear! I wonder what problems my master is having with me being missing," remarked Lefty. "Maybe I should think about going home."
"Meanwhile, we need to try to find your mittens, Emma," continued Lefty. "Let us be brave and go visit Grandmother Gnit. The worst that can happen is she will be disappointed in you and maybe give you a small punishment."
"That is what I am afraid of," stated Emma.
"Surly the disappointment and punishment cannot be as bad as not going home or visiting Grandmother Gnit for one-hundred years," suggested Lefty. "Come on. I will go with you."
So with Lefty's encouragement, Emma and Lefty headed for Fuddlecumjig.
They reached there in about fifteen minutes and were a little early for lunch.
As they approached the large house where Grandmother Gnit lived; the mayor came out of the house, saw them and went to pieces. He was known as the Lord High Chigglewitz with a first name of Larry.
"Oh my!" Exclaimed Lefty. "What have I done that scared him?"
"Oh you did not scare him," reassured Emma. "The people here in Fuddlecumjig just go all to pieces whenever visitors come around. Then the visitors have the fun of putting these people back together. It is like assembling a three-dimensional jig-saw puzzle. Give me a hand."
Lefty and Emma found the pieces making up Larry's hat and reassembled them. Then his forehead, two ears, a nose and a mouth were added to the hat. Once his head was together, he was able to tell them how to reassemble the rest of his pieces. He was soon together.
Larry invited them to lunch.
They went inside and the cook and Grandmother Gnit fell apart.
Emma suggested that they put the cook together first so she could go prepare lunch.
Once the cook was together, they started assembling Grandmother Gnit.
A few minutes later, she was put together and the five of them had lunch.
"It is so nice to see you again, Emma," said Grandmother Gnit. "It is also nice to meet you, Lefty."
Lefty and Emma were careful not to mention the missing mittens. However, they searched the whole dinning room looking for the missing mittens. Finally, they give up the search.
As Emma, and Lefty prepared to leave, Grandmother Gnit came up to Emma.
"Emma, I believe you forget something the last time you were here," announced Grandmother Gnit. "I found your mittens under your chair after you left. Would you like them back?"
"Oh, yes!" replied Emma. "I have missed them. Thank you."
Grandmother Gnit handed Emma her mittens.
"Thank you for the lunch," said Lefty.
Lefty and Emma went outside.
Emma thanked Lefty for helping in finding the mittens.
Larry came out to say goodbye to them.
"What time is it?" asked Lefty.
"It is one o'clock," stated Larry.
"Oh dear!" exclaimed Lefty. "I am supposed to be back at the Borrowing Shop by four o'clock."
"Where is the Borrowing Shop?" inquired Emma.
"It way up on the northern border of Gillikin Country," said Larry.
"That is a long ways from here," stated Emma. "It could take days to reach there from here."
"I need to get there right away," insisted Lefty. "What can I do?"
"I will carry you to the Emerald City in about one and a half hours," suggested Emma. "Maybe you could get the Wizard or Ozma to send you to the Borrowing Shop?"
"I have to try to get there!" insisted Lefty. "I do not want my master to be missing me forever. After all, you know how you missed your mittens."
"Yes I do!" said Emma. "Come on, we have to get you to the Wizard or Ozma."
Emma reached down, picked up Lefty and gently placed him in her pouch.
She turned north and started hopping toward the Emerald City.
Now when a kangaroo wants to, they can hop very fast.
Emma put all her effort into hopping and found that she was going faster than she had ever gone before.
Lefty watched the blur of the trees flash by as they entered and passed through a forest. He kept shouting at Emma to hurry.
Soon the many colors of the fields of flowers surrounding the Emerald City came into
sight and then flashed by. It was just after three
o'clock when the Emerald City came in to view.
The trip had taken longer than expected.
Emmy hopped up to the gate of the Emerald City. The gate guardian stopped them.
"What business have you got in the Emerald City?" requested the guardian.
"Please, sir," began Emma, "we need to find the Wizard or Ozma right away."
"We?" questioned the guardian. "Where is the other person?"
"I am right here," called Lefty.
The guardian looked down and saw that Lefty, the glove, was talking to him.
"Well I do declare, if that is not most unusual," remarked the Guardian. "We do not get many talking gloves here. Now, why do you need to see the Wizard or Ozma?"
"I need to get back to the Borrowing Shop by four o'clock," stated Lefty. "My vacation in Oz is over. If I don't get there on time, I may never get back to my master."
"That does sound serious," admitted the guardian. "Please go straight ahead to the palace."
"Thank you!" called Lefty to the guard, as Emma started hopping down the street.
Emma hopped her way through the crowded streets.
Lefty got to look at the people and store fronts along the way. There were stores of many kinds lining the streets. These including candy stores, clothing stores, toy stores, and food shops. The people wore outfits of various colors including the traditional colored outfits of red, yellow, blue, green, and purple. Red was for Quadling Country, yellow for Winkie Country, blue for Munchkin Country, green for the Emerald City, and purple for Gillikin Country.
It was a fast and exciting trip.
Finally the palace came into sight. Lefty told Emma to head for the main entrance of the palace. They reached it in a few minutes.
Emma hopped up the steps to the main entrance. A palace servant stopped them.
"What do you want?" asked the servant.
"If you please, we need to see Ozma or the Wizard right away," said Lefty. "I have to get to the Borrowing Shop by four o'clock."
Just then, the clock inside the palace entrance stuck four o'clock.
"Oh no! It is already four o'clock!" announced Emma. "We are too late."
"What can we do?" request Lefty of no one in particular.
"You said you wanted to see Ozma or the Wizard," reminded the servant. "Perhaps they can still help you."
"I hope you are right," stated Emma. "Where are Ozma and the Wizard?"
"I believe they are out in the palace courtyard having tea," stated the servant.
"I forgot about that," remarked Lefty. "They invited me to tea."
"Which way is the courtyard?" request Emma.
"The servant, just inside the entry doors will be happy to take you there," responded the servant. "Please, enter the palace."
"Thank you," said Emma and Lefty.
Emma hopped into the palace. A servant led them down the hall, around a corner and out into the courtyard.
Ozma was wearing a bright emerald green tea dress with white gloves and hat. The Wizard was wearing a gray coat with tails, gray slacks, and a gray silk hat. A girl and boy were having tea with them. The girl was wearing a pink dress, and white gloves with a white hat. The boy had on a dark suit and tie.
"Ozma and Wizard," announced the servant, "Emma and Lefty wish to see you."
"Please send them in," replied Ozma.
Emma and Lefty came up to the table where Ozma and the Wizard were having tea. Emma lifted Lefty out of her pouch and set him on the table between Ozma and the Wizard.
"You had us worried," stated the Wizard. "We were expecting you at three o'clock for tea."
"I am sorry," said Lefty. "I traveled further from the Emerald City than I expected to. It took longer to get back than I had planned."
"We also received a message from the clerk at the Borrowing Shop stating that you had run away from him," added Ozma. "That wasn't very nice of you."
"At the time, I thought I deserved a vacation from my master," stated Lefty. "Now, I know I was lucky to have a master."
"We can talk about that later," said the Wizard, "Right now, you can see what tea is like."
"Thank you," answered Lefty. "I am happy to get to see your tea. But. . ."
"You do not like our tea?" questioned Ozma.
"Oh, the tea is fine. Even great!" stated Lefty. "Your tea outfits are very elegant!"
"So, what is your problem?" asked Ozma.
"Well, for one thing, all of you are dressed up," replied Lefty. "You ladies are wearing gloves. The men have suits on. Even Emma has a bow and gloves on. I feel under dressed."
"Perhaps these two youngsters can help you out," suggested Ozma. "Emma and Lefty, I would like you to meet Maria and Jessie."
"Hello," called Maria and Jessie.
"What you need, Lefty, is a nice bow tie to make you feel dressed up," stated Jessie. He took a red bow tie out of his pocket.
Marie helped Jessie tie the bow tie onto Lefty.
Emma remarked, "How great the tie looks on you, Lefty."
"Now, do you feel dressed up, Lefty?" asked the Wizard.
"Yes," agreed Lefty, "But I still have another problem."
"You see, I am late," confessed Left. "I should have been here at three o'clock. Then you would have had time to help me get back to the Borrowing Shop by four o'clock. But now it is after four o'clock."
"So, you are worried about returning home?" asked the Wizard.
"Yes!" admitted Lefty. "This tag on me says I had to be in the transmitting room of the Borrowing Shop by four o'clock."
"You worry too much," said the Wizard. "Have some tea and cake."
"Thank you, but no thank you," replied Lefty. "I do not eat."
"Well, perhaps Emma would like some tea and cake?" inquires the Wizard.
"Yes, thank you," responded Emma, as the Wizard poured her some tea and Ozma handed her a slice of cake.
"Please listen," cried Lefty. "It is too late for me to get back to the Borrowing Shop by four o'clock. Now I will have to go to live as a left-handed outcast in Glove Hollow. You know they are prejudiced against left-handed gloves."
"No, you will not go to Glove Hollow!" insisted Emma. "You can come live with me."
"Thank you," replied Lefty.
A messenger came out to the table and give Ozma a note. Ozma read the note.
"Hold on, you two," announced Ozma. "I believe we can still get Lefty back to his master."
"Oh, can you?" asked Lefty. "Really?"
"Really!" assured Ozma. "Glinda has sent me a note showing the next time one can travel from the Borrowing Shop to your master's car."
"That is great!" said an excited Lefty. "When?"
"The note says you can leave the Borrowing shop at exactly 4:43 and 15 seconds," replied Ozma. "That is still thirty minutes from now. Please relax and enjoy the tea."
"Thank you," responded a relieved Lefty. "So, how do I get to the Borrowing Shop?"
"Ozma will use her magic belt to send you there," replied the Wizard. "Emma, would you like some more tea?"
"Yes, thank you," replied Emma. She was enjoying having tea with Ozma and the Wizard.
While Emma, Ozma, and the Wizard enjoyed their tea, Lefty worried about time running out again for his trip home.
"Before we send you home, Lefty, there is sometime I want to tell you," stated Ozma.
"Oh! What could that be?" requested Lefty.
"It is about what your vacation here in Oz would have been if you have been just a little patient at the Borrowing Shop," said Ozma.
"You have met Maria and Jessie," continued Ozma. "You may have seen them at the Borrowing Shop of Oz."
"Well, no, I do not remember seeing them at the Borrow Shop," replied Lefty. "Were they there?"
"They were there at the shop with their parents when you arrived at the shop," said Ozma. "If you have let the clerk place you on the shelf, you would have been borrowed by Maria and Jessie within a few minutes. So your worrying about spending your vacation on a shelf of the Borrowing Shop was unfounded."
"So, my impatience kept them from borrowing me," said Lefty. "I find it hard to believe that anyone would want to borrow just a left-handed glove."
"Oh, but you are a pretty black glove," announced Maria. "Jessie and I could have found a number of things to use you for. For one thing, you would have been nice company on the trip home from the Borrowing Shop."
"You are a man's glove, so I could wear you and pretend that I am grown up," added Jessie. "Just think what a nice hand puppet you would make, with those eyes and mouth. Or even use you as a gauntlet for challenging someone to a duel."
Jessie showed everyone what a great hand puppet Lefty made.
"Hey, I still have my eyes and mouth," exclaimed Lefty. "They disappeared when the Gillikin woman placed her hand in me."
"She didn't want to play with you," stated the Wizard. "She was probably thinking about how to take you apart and use your material for some other project."
"Would I have gotten to visit Glove Hollow?" asked Lefty.
"Yes," answered Ozma. "And Maria and Jessie would have gotten to visit there too."
"What is Glove Hollow?" said Jessie.
"It is a place where lost gloves go to live," stated Emma. "Lefty says one pair of my missing mittens are there."
"Would I have gotten to do some bowling?" asked Lefty.
"Yes, you would have gotten to bowl with Maria and Jessie," said the Wizard, "along with their parents. You would also have gotten to see some of the shops in the Emerald City. They also have many friends here in Oz who would have gotten to meet you."
"But would I have met Emma and helped her find her other lost mittens?" inquired Lefty.
"No," replied Ozma. "You would not have met Emma."
"Then she would not have found her mittens and been able to go home again," said Lefty.
"That would have been awful."
"I agree," added Emma. "I am glad I got to meet Lefty and find my mittens."
"You would have found your mittens tomorrow," stated Ozma. "That is when Maria and Jessie would have met you when they were on the way to Glinda's with their parents."
"As it is, Maria and Jessie will get to take Emma home tomorrow. They will become good friends," Ozma assured everyone.
"You see, Lefty," continued Ozma, "you need to understand that here in the Land of Oz, everything always works out for the best in the end."
"And of course you did miss out on other things here in Oz that you might have seen and done," announced the Wizard. "Never the less, you did have a good vacation here, didn't you?"
"Yes, I did," agreed Lefty. "At least I will have, once I get back home okay. Indeed, visiting the Land of Oz is a real treat!"
"Would anyone like more tea or cakes?" asked the Wizard.
Everyone said they had quite enough, thank you.
Finally, Ozma went into the palace and returned a few minutes later with her magic belt.
"Lefty," stated Ozma, "it is time for you to leave for the Borrowing Shop."
"Thank goodness," thought Lefty to himself, "I am going to get back to my master!"
"It was nice having you for tea," announced the Wizard. "Have a good trip home."
"Thank you, for having me to tea," stated Lefty. "It was a grand occasion."
"It was nice to meet you, Lefty," said Maria and Jessie together.
"Sorry I did not get to play more with you," apologized Lefty. "Perhaps we will meet again."
"I have learned my lesson. Next time I come to the Land of Oz, I will try to obey all the rules," announced Lefty.
Meanwhile, Jim had just gone out to his car to get his spare glasses. He got in the car and placed Snake beside the driver's seat. Then he got his old glasses out of the console and switched them with his new glasses. He looked at how he looked in the rear view mirror.
"Good-bye, everyone," said Lefty. "Thank you, Emma, for the ride. Thank you, Ozma, for the help in sending me to the Borrowing Shop."
"Thanks for helping me find my mittens!" replied Emma.
"Oh, by the way, Emma, there is something I wanted to tell you," remembered Lefty. "You remember the first mittens you lost about one-hundred years ago?"
"Yes,"
"Well, I think I ran into them in Glove Hollow up in Gillikin Country," stated Lefty. "They could really use you as their master."
"I could use a second pair of mittens," agreed Emma. "I will have to go look for them. Thank you."
"I can help Emma find the mittens," offered Ozma.
"It was nice to have you visit Oz, Lefty," added Ozma.
Ozma touched her magic belt, said a few magic words and Lefty disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
Then Lefty appeared on top of a box in a small room, similar to the receiving room of the Borrowing Shop.
"Well, it is about time," announced the clerk of the Borrowing Shop, who was peering in the door to the room. "You are late! I hope Ozma is right in that you can leave here in about a minute. Please just stay still and it will all be over in a moment."
Lefty started to say something, but the room suddenly filled with purple smoke.
Moments later, the smoke began to clear. Lefty found himself on top of Snake who was on the floor of Jim's car.
He was so happy to see Snake that he gave him a big hug. It was just then that Jim looked around, so Lefty ceased to be able to move. He was stuck hugging Snake. But, above all, Lefty was glad to be back.
While Jim was busy adjusting his glasses and hair in the mirror, he did not see the purple smoke. He closed the console of his car and looked down at Snake, as he was getting out of the car.
There was Lefty on top of Snake.
"Where have you been, glove?" asked Jim "I have been looking for you since yesterday. I know you were not here when I got into the car and put Snake down. Otherwise you would be under Snake, and not on top of him."
Jim put the glove back on the passenger's seat, picked up Snake, got out of the car and went back inside to his office.
"Hey Snake! Can you hear me?" asked Lefty.
"I can hear you," replied Snake. "Why did you try to choke me?"
"Snake, I am sorry. I did not mean to choke you," said Lefty. "I was just so glad to see you again that I had to hug you. Only just then, Jim looked in my direction and I could not move any more. I was stuck in that hug. It just looked like I was choking you."
"Right!" added Righty. "And Snake and I are going to dance all around the car. You know we cannot move except when no person is watching us."
"But in the Land of Oz, I could move, walk, and talk to people," insisted Lefty. "It was great! I even had two eyes and a mouth. You should have been there."
"If you are telling the truth, I will forgive you for looking like you were choking me," agreed Snake. "Maybe next time Righty and I can have a vacation."
"One question, Lefty?" requested Snake. "Why did you return on top of me rather than back on the seat you left from?"
"I was having so much fun in the Land of Oz that I missed my return time," explained Lefty. "Ozma and Glinda managed to find me an alternate return that almost got me back to where I came from. It was close, but it was several inches above you, Snake, rather than back on the passenger's seat."
"Okay. That explains why you fell on me," agreed Snake.
Will Lefty ever get to visit Oz again?
Will Righty and Snake get to visit Oz?
Future stories will answer these questions.
The previous story is based on an instance recorded in the Case Book of Jim Fuller under "Stranger Than Fiction, But True!"
WARNING: If you do not believe in things disappearing from closets and piles of papers and then sometimes reappearing days later. Don't read this account of an actual event. Also, don't bother reading "The Borrowing Shop of Oz."
Feb. 4, 03 - 7:00 A.M. -- It was in the low 20's (Fahrenheit) outside when I left for work, so I wore my black gloves to keep my hands warm. Once at work, I took off my gloves, picked up my briefcase off the passenger's seat of my car, placed my gloves on the passenger's seat, and picked up my cane (shaped like a snake). I got out of the car and went inside to my office.
Now the interior of my car is light gray.
After work, I got into my car, put my cane down besides the driver's seat, placed the briefcase on top of the gloves and drove home.
There I picked up my briefcase and went into the house.
Then I noticed I have forgotten my gloves.
I went back out to the car to retrieve the gloves. The right glove was on the passenger's seat, but the left glove was missing. I searched around, under, beside, in front of the passenger's seat, driver's seat, the floor, the console, the glove compartment; and everywhere in, out and around the car. Next, I searched everywhere I had been in the house. The left glove was nowhere to be found! Even my wife couldn't find it.
Feb. 04, 03 - 7:00 A.M. -- It was in the low 20's again. My wife had me wear a new pair of gloves that didn't fit as well as the old one's. I drove to school and left the new gloves on the passenger's seat. I also searched for the missing glove one more time. I didn't find it.
Feb. 04, 03 - 12:00 Noon -- My ears hurt from the rubbing of my new glasses. So, I went out to my car to get my old glasses from the console. Once in the car, I placed my cane between the driver's seat and console, and switched my glasses. I noticed that the new gloves were still on the passenger's seat.
As I got ready to get out of the car, I looked down at my cane. There was something black laying on top of the cane. It was the missing left glove! Where it had been, I have no idea.
Here is a picture of Jim, snake, Lefty, and Righty.
1. For more about the Borrowing Shop of Oz read the book "The Borrowing Shop of Oz", by Jim Fuller.
2. More details about the kangaroo are found in Chapter Twelve of the book, "The Emerald City of Oz", by L. Frank Baum.