Chapter 15: The King of the Fairy Beavers

Beyond the valley, the country became rugged and rolling, with outcroppings of grey rock, while the river narrowed, grew deeper, and flowed much more swiftly.

It was well into the afternoon, when the Shaggy Man suggested that they rest under a gnarled tree near the river bank and enjoy their luncheon.

They were all glad for the rest on the grass which grew high and coarse over the countryside, and the food which Lady Cue had packed for them was both satisfying and delicious.

Twink took a long look at the rather forbidding scenery about them. In the distance loomed dark mountain peaks, while trees became fewer and fewer.

"Doesn't look like there's a living thing within miles!" said the little girl, a bit disconsolately.

"In a way that's a good sign," replied the Shaggy Man. "For the nearer we come to the Deadly Desert the more wild and desolate the country is. From the looks of things here I wouldn't be surprised if we were near the Kingdom of the Nomes."

"Have you any idea how we can get to Oz, once we arrive at the Deadly Desert?" asked Twiffle.

"No," said the Shaggy Man, "I haven't. But one can never tell what will happen when traveling in a fairy country, and I figure the closer we are to the Deadly Desert, the closer we are to Oz. Now if I just hadn't lost Ozma's Magic Compass--but there's no use crying over spilt milk."

"Did I understand you to say you are going to the Land of Oz?"

The words were spoken in a small, clear voice. At the same time the tall grass just in front of Shaggy and his friends parted, and a beaver stepped out and viewed them fearlessly.

Twink was amazed to see that the beaver wore a small golden crown on his head, while in his right paw he carried a slender beech rod.

"Yes," said the Shaggy Man, calmly regarding the beaver while he continued to munch a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. "That is, we hope to get to the Land of Oz. First we must find some way to cross the Deadly Desert."

The beaver was silent for a moment, then he said: "Will you take me to Oz with you?"

"Take you with us!" exclaimed the Shaggy Man. "Why, we aren't at all sure we can get there ourselves. But why do you want to go to Oz? I can tell by your crown that you're a King of some sort and not an ordinary beaver."

"I am the King of the Fairy Beavers," announced the little animal, a bit proudly. "None of us are ordinary beavers, since we are fairy creatures. And as for why I want to visit Oz--well, I have heard wonderful tales of that famous fairyland, and I have long dreamed of visiting it."

"Seems to me," observed Tom, "that since you are a Fairy King, your magic powers could take you to Oz."

"No," replied the beaver King, "my magic is mostly water magic and that would be less than useless on the fiery sands of the Deadly Desert. But that isn't the main reason that keeps me from visiting Oz."

"What is it, then?" asked Shaggy.

"I have not been invited," replied the beaver King simply.

"I am sure that if Ozma knew about that, she would fix it," said the Shaggy Man kindly.

"Do you think so?" asked the beaver. "Do you really think Ozma would invite me? I hoped you would say that for it gives me courage to put forth a suggestion I have in mind."

"What is that?" asked Shaggy.

"If you, the famous Shaggy Man of Oz, were to invite me to visit Oz, then everything would be quite proper, wouldn't it?"

"I suppose it would," admitted the Shaggy Man smiling. "But how do you propose to get to Oz since we can't cross the Desert?"

"Then you really invite me to accompany you? That is wonderful! As for the Deadly Desert--I have a plan which might work."

"How did you know who the Shaggy Man was?" asked Twink.

"Oh, everyone knows about the Shaggy Man of Oz, and when I saw you here discussing your journey to Oz, I was almost sure this could be none other than the famous Shaggy Man."

Shaggy looked modestly down at the ground.

Twiffle asked: "Just how far are we from this Deadly Desert?"

"Quite a distance," replied the beaver King. "The Desert lies just beyond our own Kingdom which is in the hills and mountains you see in the distance."

"And what is your plan for crossing it?" asked the Shaggy Man.

"Come to my palace where you will be comfortable," said the King, "and we will discuss my plan."

"It must be a long walk," sighed Twink. "And the farther we go toward the Desert, the rockier and grayer the country becomes."

"Oh, we shan't walk. It will be much quicker to ride," declared the beaver King.

With that the King of the Fairy Beavers walked to the edge of the stream and uttered a shrill whistle. Shaggy and his friends followed the little animal. A few hundred feet below them the river curved to the left. Around this bend in the stream they could now see some twenty little heads--beavers swimming swiftly upstream, and pulling after them a barge-like boat with a canopy to shut out the rays of the sun.

In a few moments the boat was drawing near the shore on which they stood. Twink could see that each of the little beavers wore a harness, connected to the boat by a rope of woven reeds. The boat, itself, was brightly painted and filled with soft, silken cushions.

"You will be my guests on the journey down the river to my Kingdom where it will give me great pleasure to welcome you to my humble abode."

Twink, Tom, the Shaggy Man, and Twiffle stepped into the boat. The Shaggy Man had to stoop a bit to miss the canopy, but once they were seated on the soft cushions there was room for all.

The King of the Fairy Beavers hitched himself into the front of the harness with the other beavers. "I hope you'll forgive me for not riding with you," he said, "but when I have guests, I like to do my share of the work--we beavers always enjoy working together, you know, and occasions like this give me an opportunity to forget I'm a King." The boat moved swiftly down the river, pulled easily by the team of strong little animals.

"Well, this certainly beats walking, your Majesty," said the Shaggy Man as he sighed with content and settled back among the cushions.