"
He shuffled first on one foot and then on the other, much embarrassed.
"I told you a falsehood, Dorothy," he said; "but now, having bathed in
the Truth Pond, I must tell nothing but the truth."
"Why did you steal it?" asked Ozma, gently.
"Because no one loved me, or cared for me," said the shaggy man, "and I
wanted to be loved a great deal. It was owned by a girl in
Butterfield who was loved too much, so that the young men quarreled
over her, which made her unhappy. After I had stolen the Magnet from
her, only one young man continued to love the girl, and she married
him and regained her happiness."
"Are you sorry you stole it?" asked the Princess.
"No, your Highness; I'm glad," he answered; "for it has pleased me to
be loved, and if Dorothy had not cared for me I could not have
accompanied her to this beautiful Land of Oz, or met its kind-hearted
Ruler. Now that I'm here, I hope to remain, and to become one of your
Majesty's most faithful subjects."
"But in Oz we are loved for ourselves alone, and for our kindness to
one another, and for our good deeds," she said.
"I'll give up the Love Magnet," said the shaggy man, eagerly; "Dorothy
shall have it."
"But every one loves Dorothy already," declared the Wizard.
"Then Button-Bright shall have it."
"Don't want it," said the boy, promptly.
"Then I'll give it to the Wizard, for I'm sure the lovely Princess
Ozma does not need it.
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