To Louis F. Gottschalk,
           Whose sweet and dainty melodies
              breathe the true spirit
                   of fairyland,
         this book is affectionately dedicated

    To My Readers

    The very
          marked success
            of my last year's
                  fairy book,
         "The Patchwork Girl of Oz,"
            convinces me
             that my readers
                  like the Oz stories "best
                       of all,"
                     as one little girl
                wrote me.

    So here,
           my dears,
         is a new Oz story
             in which
                is introduced Ann Soforth,
           the Queen of Oogahoo,
         whom Tik-Tok
              assisted in conquering
                   our old acquaintance,
           the Nome Kin.

    It also
        tells of Betsy Bobin
               and how,
           after many adventures,
         she finally
           reached the marvelous
                   Land of Oz.

    There is a play called
         "The Tik-Tok Man of Oz,"
            hut it
            is not
                  like this story
                       of "Tik-Tok of Oz,"
             although some of the adventures
                  recorded in this book,
           as well as those in
              several other Oz hooks,
         are included in the play.

    Those who
          have seen the play
               and those
         who have read the
               other Oz hooks
            will find
                   in this story a lot
                       of strange characters
                     and adventures
             that they
                  have never heard of before.

    In the letters
         I receive from children there
            has been an urgent
                 appeal for me
                  to write a story
         that will
              take Trot and Cap'n Bill
                   to the Land of Oz,
           where they
            will meet Dorothy and Ozma.

    Also they think Button-Bright
        ought to get
         acquainted with Ojo the Lucky.

    As you know,
           I am
              obliged to talk these matters
                   over with Dorothy
                 by means of the
         "wireless,"
            for that is the
              only way
             I can communicate
                   with the Land of Oz.

    When I asked
           her about this idea,
         she replied:
         "Why,
               haven't you heard?"

    I said
         "No."
            "Well," came the message
               over the wireless,
           "I'll tell you all
               about it,
         by and by,
           and then you
            can make a hook of
             that story
                   for the children to read."

    So,
           if Dorothy
            keeps her word and
             I am permitted
                  to write another Oz hook,
         you will probably discover
             how all these characters
                came together
                       in the famous Emerald City.

    Meantime,
           I want
              to tell
                   all my little friends
         --whose numbers
            are increasing
                   by many thousands every year--
           that I
            am very grateful
                   for the favor
             they have shown
                   my hooks and
                 for the delightful little letters
             I am constantly receiving.

    I am almost sure
         that I
              have as many friends
                   among the children of America
                 as any story writer alive;
        and this,
           of course,
         makes me
               very proud and happy.

    L.
        Frank Baum.

    "OZCOT"
        at HOLLYWOOD in CALIFORNIA,
           1914.

    TIK-TOK
        of OZ
 
  Chapter One
  Ann's Army

    "I won't!"

    cried Ann;
         "I won't sweep the floor.

    It is beneath my dignity."

    "Some one must sweep it,"
          replied Ann's younger sister,
               Salye;
            "else we shall soon
                 he wading in dust.

    And you are the eldest,
           and the head
               of the family."

    "I'm Queen of Oogaboo,"
          said Ann,
           proudly.

    "But,"
          she added with a sigh,
               "my kingdom
                is the smallest
                       and the poorest
                     in all
                           the Land of Oz."

    This was quite true.

    Away up in the mountains,
           in a
               far corner
                   of the beautiful fairyland
                       of Oz,
         lies a small valley
              which is named Oogaboo,
           and in this valley
              lived a few people
             who were usually happy
                   and contented and never