They were farm-houses, though, and set far apart;
for in the Land of Oz there were no towns or villages except the
magnificent Emerald City in its center.
Hedges of evergreen or of yellow roses bordered the broad highway and
the farms showed the care of their industrious inhabitants. The
nearer the travelers came to the great city the more prosperous the
country became, and they crossed many bridges over the sparkling
streams and rivulets that watered the lands.
As they walked leisurely along the shaggy man said to the Tin Woodman:
"What sort of a Magic Powder was it that made your friend the
Pumpkinhead live?"
"It was called the Powder of Life," was the answer; "and it was
invented by a crooked Sorcerer who lived in the mountains of the North
Country. A Witch named Mombi got some of this powder from the crooked
Sorcerer and took it home with her. Ozma lived with the Witch then,
for it was before she became our Princess, while Mombi had transformed
her into the shape of a boy. Well, while Mombi was gone to the
crooked Sorcerer's, the boy made this pumpkin-headed man to amuse
himself, and also with the hope of frightening the Witch with it when
she returned. But Mombi was not scared, and she sprinkled the
Pumpkinhead with her Magic Powder of Life, to see if the Powder would
work. Ozma was watching, and saw the Pumpkinhead come to life; so that
night she took the pepper-box containing the Powder and ran away with
it and with Jack, in search of adventures.
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