It was unfortunate that the famous Scarecrow - the mostpopular person in all Oz, next to Ozma -- was absent atthe time of the banquet, for he happened just then tobe making one of his trips through the country; but theScarecrow had a chance later to meet Rinkitink and Ingaand the King and Queen of Pingaree and Prince Bobo, forthe party remained several weeks at the Emerald City,where they were royally entertained, and where both thegentle Queen Garee and the noble King Kitticutrecovered much of their good spirits and composure andtried to forget their dreadful experiences.

At last, however, the King and Queen desired toreturn to their own Pingaree, as they longed to be withtheir people again and see how well they had rebuilttheir homes. Inga also was anxious to return, althoughhe had been very happy in Oz, and King Rinkitink, whowas happy anywhere except at Gilgad, decided to go withhis former friends to Pingaree. As for prince Bobo, hehad become so greatly attached to King Rinkitink thathe was loth to leave him.

On a certain day they all bade good-bye to Ozma andDorothy and Glinda and the Wizard and all their goodfriends in Oz, and were driven in the Red Wagon to theedge of the Deadly Desert, which they crossed safely onthe Magic Carpet. They then made their way across theNome Kingdom and the Wheeler Country, where no onemolested them, to the shores of the Nonestic Ocean.There they found the boat with the silver lining stilllying undisturbed on the beach.

There were no important adventures during the tripand on their arrival at the pearl kingdom they wereamazed at the beautiful appearance of the island theyhad left in ruins. All the houses of the people hadbeen rebuilt and were prettier than before, with greenlawns before them and flower gardens in the back yards.The marble towers of King Kitticut's new palace werevery striking and impressive, while the palace itselfproved far more magnificent than it had been before thewarriors from Regos destroyed it.

Nikobob had been very active and skillful indirecting all this work, and he had also built a prettycottage for himself, not far from the King's palace,and there Inga found Zella, who was living very happyand contented in her new home. Not only had Nikobobaccomplished all this in a comparatively brief space oftime, but he had started the pearl fisheries again andwhen King Kitticut returned to Pingaree he found aquantity of fine pearls already in the royal treasury.

So pleased was Kitticut with the good judgment,industry and honesty of the former charcoal-burner ofRegos, that he made Nikobob his Lord High Chamberlainand put him in charge of the pearl fisheries and allthe business matters of the island kingdom.

They all settled down very comfortably in the newpalace and the Queen gathered her maids about her oncemore and set them to work embroidering new draperiesfor the royal throne. Inga placed the three MagicPearls in their silken bag and again deposited them inthe secret cavity under the tiled flooring of thebanquet hall, where they could be quickly secured ifdanger ever threatened the now prosperous island.

King Rinkitink occupied a royal guest chamber builtespecially for his use and seemed in no hurry to leavehis friends in Pingaree. The fat little King had towalk wherever he went and so missed Bilbil more andmore; but he seldom walked far and he was so fond ofPrince BoBo that he never regretted Bilbil'sdisenchantment.

Indeed, the jolly monarch was welcome to remainforever in Pingaree, if he wished to, for his merrydisposition set smiles on the faces of all his friendsand made everyone near him as jolly as he was himself.When King Kitticut was not too busy with affairs ofstate he loved to join his guest and listen to hisbrother monarch's songs and stories. For he foundRinkitink to be, with all his careless disposition, ashrewd philosopher, and in talking over theiradventures one day the King of Gilgad said:

"The beauty of life is its sudden changes. No oneknows what is going to happen next, and so we areconstantly being surprised and entertained. The manyups and downs should not discourage us, for if we aredown, we know that a change is coming and we will go upagain; while those who are up are almost certain to godown. My grandfather had a song which well expressesthis and if you will listen I will sing it."

"Of course I will listen to your song," returnedKitticut, "for it would be impolite not to."

So Rinkitink sang his grandfather's song:

"A mighty King once ruled the land --But now he's baking pies.A pauper, on the other hand,Is ruling, strong and wise.

A tiger once in jungles raged --But now he's in a zoo;A lion, captive-born and caged,Now roams the forest through.

A man once slapped a poor boy's pateAnd made him weep and wail.The boy became a magistrateAnd put the man in jail.

A sunny day succeeds the night;It's summer -- then it snows!Right oft goes wrong and wrong comes right,As ev'ry wise man knows."