By L. Frank Baum
          "Royal Historian of Oz"

   Introducing this Story

    Here is a story
           with a boy hero,
         and a boy of
              whom you
            have never before heard.

    There are girls
           in the story,
         too,
         including our old friend Dorothy,
           and some of the characters
              wander a good way
                   from the Land of Oz
             before they all
                  assemble in the Emerald City
                       to take
                     part in Ozma's banquet.

    Indeed,
           I think you
            will find this story
                  quite different
                       from the
                           other histories of Oz,
         but I hope you
            will not
                  like it the less
                       on that account.

    If I
        am permitted
              to write another Oz book
         it will tell of
               some thrilling adventures
              encountered by Dorothy,
           Betsy Bobbin,
         Trot and
               the Patchwork Girl right
             in the Land of Oz,
           and how
             they discovered some amazing creatures
               that never
                could have existed
                       outside a fairy-land.

    I have an idea
         that about the time you
            are reading this story
                   of Rinkitink
         I shall be writing
           that story
               of Adventures in Oz.

    Don't fail
          to write me often
              and give me your advice
                   and suggestions,
           which I always appreciate.

    I get a good many
        letters from my readers,
           but every one
            is a joy
                   to me and
             I answer them as
                  soon as
             I can find time
                  to do so.

    "OZCOT"
        at HOLLYWOOD in CALIFORNIA,
           1916.

    L. FRANK BAUM
        Royal Historian of Oz
 
  Chapter One
  The Prince of Pingaree

    If you
          have a map
               of the Land
             of Oz handy,
           you will find
             that the great Nonestic Ocean
                  washes the shores
                       of the Kingdom of Rinkitink,
         between which
               and the Land of Oz
              lies a strip
                   of the country
                 of the Nome King
                   and a Sandy Desert.

    The Kingdom of Rinkitink
        isn't very big and lies
               close to the ocean,
           all the houses
               and the King's palace
            being built near the shore.

    The people
          live much upon the water,
           boating and fishing,
         and the wealth of Rinkitink
            is gained from trading
                   along the coast and
                       with the islands nearest it.

    Four days'
         journey by boat
               to the north of Rinkitink
        is the Island of Pingaree,
           and as our story
            begins here
             I must tell you something
                   about this island.

    At the north end
           of Pingaree,
         where it is widest,
         the land
            is a mile
                   from shore to shore,
           but at the south
              end it
            is scarcely half
                   a mile broad;
        thus,
           although Pingaree
            is four miles long,
         from north to south,
           it cannot be called
               a very big island.

    It is exceedingly pretty,
           however,
         and to the gulls
             who approach it
                   from the sea it
                must resemble a huge green
                       wedge lying upon the waters,
           for its grass and trees
              give it the color
                   of an emerald.

    The grass
        came to the edge
               of the sloping shores;
        the beautiful trees
              occupied all the central portion
                   of Pingaree,
           forming a continuous grove
             where the branches
                   met high overhead
                and there was
                      just space
                           beneath them
                               for the cosy houses
                                   of the inhabitants.

    These houses
        were scattered everywhere
               throughout the island,
           so that
            there was no town
                  or city,
         unless the whole island
            might be called a city.

    The canopy of leaves,
           high overhead,
         formed a shelter
               from sun and rain,
           and the dwellers
               in the grove
            could all look
                   past the straight tree-trunks and
                 across the grassy slopes
                       to the purple waters
                           of the Nonestic Ocean.

    At the big end
           of the island,