That was a wonderful gathering of wild animals in the Forest of Gugunext sunrise. Rango, the Gray Ape, had even called his monkeysentinels away from the forest edge, and every beast, little and big,was in the great clearing where meetings were held on occasions ofgreat importance.

In the center of the clearing stood a great shelving rock, having aflat, inclined surface, and on this sat the stately Leopard Gugu, whowas King of the Forest. On the ground beneath him squatted Bru theBear, Loo the Unicorn, and Rango the Gray Ape, the King's threeCounselors, and in front of them stood the two strange beasts who hadcalled themselves Li-Mon-Eags, but were really the transformations ofRuggedo the Nome, and Kiki Aru the Hyup.

Then came the beasts--rows and rows and rows of them! The smallestbeasts were nearest the King's rock throne; then there were wolves andfoxes, lynxes and hyenas, and the like; behind them were gathered themonkey tribes, who were hard to keep in order because they teased theother animals and were full of mischievous tricks. Back of themonkeys were the pumas, jaguars, tigers and lions, and their kind;next the bears, all sizes and colors; after them bisons, wild asses,zebras and unicorns; farther on the rhinoceri and hippopotami, and atthe far edge of the forest, close to the trees that shut in theclearing, was a row of thick-skinned elephants, still as statues butwith eyes bright and intelligent.

Many other kinds of beasts, too numerous to mention, were there, andsome were unlike any beasts we see in the menageries and zoos in ourcountry. Some were from the mountains west of the forest, and somefrom the plains at the east, and some from the river; but all presentacknowledged the leadership of Gugu, who for many years had ruled themwisely and forced all to obey the laws.

When the beasts had taken their places in the clearing and therising sun was shooting its first bright rays over the treetops, KingGugu rose on his throne. The Leopard's giant form, towering above allthe others, caused a sudden hush to fall on the assemblage.

"Brothers," he said in his deep voice, "a stranger has come amongus, a beast of curious form who is a great magician and is able tochange the shapes of men or beasts at his will. This stranger hascome to us, with another of his kind, from out of the sky, to warn usof a danger which threatens us all, and to offer us a way to escapefrom that danger. He says he is our friend, and he has proved to meand to my Counselors his magic powers. Will you listen to what he hasto say to you--to the message he has brought from the sky?"

"Let him speak!" came in a great roar from the great company ofassembled beasts.

So Ruggedo the Nome sprang upon the flat rock beside Gugu the King,and another roar, gentle this time, showed how astonished the beastswere at the sight of his curious form. His lion's face was surroundedby a mane of pure white hair; his eagle's wings were attached to theshoulders of his monkey body and were so long that they nearly touchedthe ground; he had powerful arms and legs in addition to the wings,and at the end of his long, strong tail was a golden ball. Never hadany beast beheld such a curious creature before, and so the very sightof the stranger, who was said to be a great magician, filled allpresent with awe and wonder.

Kiki stayed down below and, half hidden by the shelf of rock, wasscarcely noticed. The boy realized that the old Nome was helplesswithout his magic power, but he also realized that Ruggedo was thebest talker. So he was willing the Nome should take the lead.

"Beasts of the Forest of Gugu," began Ruggedo the Nome, "my comradeand I are your friends. We are magicians, and from our home in thesky we can look down into the Land of Oz and see everything that isgoing on. Also we can hear what the people below us are saying. Thatis how we heard Ozma, who rules the Land of Oz, say to her people:'The beasts in the Forest of Gugu are lazy and are of no use to us.Let us go to their forest and make them all our prisoners. Let us tiethem with ropes, and beat them with sticks, until they work for us andbecome our willing slaves.' And when the people heard Ozma of Oz saythis, they were glad and raised a great shout and said: 'We will doit! We will make the beasts of the Forest of Gugu our slaves!'"

The wicked old Nome could say no more, just then, for such a fierceroar of anger rose from the multitude of beasts that his voice wasdrowned by the clamor. Finally the roar died away, like distantthunder, and Ruggedo the Nome went on with his speech.

"Having heard the Oz people plot against your liberty, we watched tosee what they would do, and saw them all begin making ropes--ropeslong and short--with which to snare our friends the beasts. You areangry, but we also were angry, for when the Oz people became theenemies of the beasts they also became our enemies; for we, too, arebeasts, although we live in the sky. And my comrade and I said: 'Wewill save our friends and have revenge on the Oz people,' and so wecame here to tell you of your danger and of our plan to save you."

"We can save ourselves," cried an old Elephant. "We can fight."

"The Oz people are fairies, and you can't fight against magic unlessyou also have magic," answered the Nome.

"Tell us your plan!" shouted the huge Tiger, and the other beastsechoed his words, crying: "Tell us your plan."

"My plan is simple," replied Ruggedo. "By our magic we willtransform all you animals into men and women--like the Oz people--andwe will transform all the Oz people into beasts. You can then live inthe fine houses of the Land of Oz, and eat the fine food of the Ozpeople, and wear their fine clothes, and sing and dance and be happy.And the Oz people, having become beasts, will have to live here in theforest and hunt and fight for food, and often go hungry, as you nowdo, and have no place to sleep but a bed of leaves or a hole in theground. Having become men and women, you beasts will have all thecomforts you desire, and having become beasts, the Oz people will bevery miserable. That is our plan, and if you agree to it, we will allmarch at once into the Land of Oz and quickly conquer our enemies."

When the stranger ceased speaking, a great silence fell on theassemblage, for the beasts were thinking of what he had said. Finallyone of the walruses asked:

"Can you really transform beasts into men, and men into beasts?"

"He can--he can!" cried Loo the Unicorn, prancing up and down in anexcited manner. "He transformed ME, only last evening, and he cantransform us all."

Gugu the King now stepped forward.

"You have heard the stranger speak," said he, "and now you must answer him.It is for you to decide. Shall we agree to this plan, or not?"

"Yes!" shouted some of the animals.

"No!" shouted others.

And some were yet silent.

Gugu looked around the great circle.

"Take more time to think," he suggested. "Your answer is veryimportant. Up to this time we have had no trouble with the Oz people,but we are proud and free, and never will become slaves. Thinkcarefully, and when you are ready to answer, I will hear you."