Chapter I: Front Matter

The Lost King of Oz

BY RUTH PLUMLY THOMPSON

_Founded on and continuing the Famous Oz Stories_

BY
L. FRANK BAUM
"Royal Historian of Oz"

Illustrated by
JOHN R. NEILL

The Reilly & Lee Co.
Chicago

_Printed in the United States of America_

Copyright, 1925
By
The Reilly & Lee Co.

_All Rights Reserved_

_The Lost King of Oz_

* * * * *

This book is dedicated to
My Best Girl--Mother
RUTH PLUMLY THOMPSON

* * * * *

Dear Boys and Girls:

A whole book full of news has happened in Oz since I wrote to you last year. But before I tell a word of it, I must thank you for the wonderful letters you have written to me. It is fine to know which of the dear old Ozzy celebrities you like best, so please do keep on writing. If you tell me all the Oz news you hear, I'll tell you all I hear. Is it a bargain? Well, the most surprising news right now is about the Lost King.

"Lost! Lost! Lost! What an exciting word!" writes a little girl to whom I confided the secret. "Who is he? Where was he and will he replace Ozma on the throne?"

I could hardly wait to find out the answers to all of these questions my own self and if it had not been for Snip, the little Button Boy and Pajuka, the goose, I never would have discovered them.

Almost everybody is in this adventure--even Kabumpo had a trunk in the affair. When you have read the whole strange story, let me know what you think of Mombi's wicked behavior, will you?

And I cannot say good-bye without a big cheer for every boy and girl who believes in OZ! Lots of love to you!

RUTH PLUMLY THOMPSON.
254 S. Farragut Terrace,
Philadelphia,
July, 1925.

_The Lost King of Oz_

Princess Ozma has ruled so wisely and happily in the wonderful Land of Oz for so long that most of us have forgotten the strange story of the Lost King of Oz--Ozma's father.

As everyone in Oz knows, the King was transformed from his royal self by Mombi, the wicked old Gilliken witch, and lost his throne and his crown when he, himself, was lost.

In this new Oz book the Royal Historian tells how Snip, the little buttonboy, and Pajuka, the great white goose--who had been the lost King's prime minister in the good old days--set out from the jolly Kingdom of Kimbaloo to find the King and to petition Princess Ozma to punish Mombi for her wicked mischief.

Princess Dorothy meets Snip and Pajuka, as she returns from a sudden and curious visit to Hollywood with a funny and friendly moving picture dummy, and the four adventurers are whisked to the Emerald City by Kabumpo, the Elegant Elephant. At the Court of Ozma the Scarecrow and the Wizard of Oz join in the attempt to find the Lost King, and the surprising events that follow make a truly exciting Oz story.

After many thrilling attempts, the mystery of the Lost King is magically solved, but you must read for yourself to find out all about it.

List of Chapters

1 In Jolly Kimbaloo

2 Snip's Great Adventure

3 King Kinda Jolly Is Sad

4 In the Purple Forest

5 The Rolling Hoopers

6 In Catty Corners

7 The Magic Pudding

8 The Mysterious Message

9 In the Castle of Morrow

10 Dorothy and the Dummy

11 A Real Oz Adventure

12 The Playful Scooters

13 Snip Meets the Blanks

14 The Old Tailor's Story

15 Kabumpo to the Rescue

16 Humpy Hailed as King

17 Mombi's Magic

18 Ozma's Odd Home-Coming

19 The Wizard Takes a Hand

20 The Lost King Is Found

21 The Grand Procession