When they had reached the end of the path, where theyhad first seen the warning sign, they set off acrossthe country in an easterly direction. Before long theyreached Rolling Lands, which were a succession of hillsand valleys where constant climbs and descents wererequired, and their journey now became tedious, becauseon climbing each hill, they found before them nothingin the valley below it except grass, or weeds orstones.

Up and down they went for hours, with nothing torelieve the monotony of the landscape, until finally,when they had topped a higher hill than usual, theydiscovered a cup-shaped valley before them in thecenter of which stood an enormous castle, built ofpurple stone. The castle was high and broad andlong, but had no turrets and towers. So far as theycould see, there was but one small window and onebig door on each side of the great building.

"This is strange!" mused the Scarecrow. "I'd no ideasuch a big castle existed in this Gillikin Country. Iwonder who lives here?"

"It seems to me, from this distance," remarked theTin Woodman, "that it's the biggest castle I ever saw.It is really too big for any use, and no one could openor shut those big doors without a stepladder."

"Perhaps, if we go nearer, we shall find out whetheranybody lives there or not," suggested Woot. "Looks tome as if nobody lived there."

On they went, and when they reached the center of thevalley, where the great stone castle stood, it wasbeginning to grow dark. So they hesitated as to what todo.

"If friendly people happen to live here," said Woot.I shall be glad of a bed; but should enemies occupy theplace, I prefer to sleep upon the ground."

"And if no one at all lives here," added theScarecrow, "we can enter, and take possession, andmake ourselves at home."

While speaking he went nearer to one of the greatdoors, which was three times as high and broad as anyhe had ever seen in a house before, and then hediscovered, engraved in big letters upon a stone overthe doorway, the words:

"YOOP CASTLE"

"Oho!" he exclaimed; "I know the place now. This wasprobably the home of Mr. Yoop, a terrible giant whom Ihave seen confined in a cage, a long way from here.Therefore this castle is likely to be empty and we mayuse it in any way we please."

"Yes, yes," said the Tin Emperor, nodding; "I alsoremember Mr. Yoop. But how are we to get into hisdeserted castle? The latch of the door is so far aboveour heads that none of us can reach it."

They considered this problem for a while, and thenWoot said to the Tin Man:

"If I stand upon your shoulders, I think I canunlatch the door."

"Climb up, then," was the reply, and when the boy wasperched upon the tin shoulders of Nick Chopper, he wasjust able to reach the latch and raise it.

At once the door swung open, its great hinges makinga groaning sound as if in protest, so Woot leaped downand followed his companions into a big, bare hallway.Scarcely were the three inside, however, when theyheard the door slam shut behind them, and thisastonished them because no one had touched it. It hadclosed of its own accord, as if by magic. Moreover,the latch was on the outside, and the thought occurredto each one of them that they were now prisoners inthis unknown castle.

"However," mumbled the Scarecrow, "we are not toblame for what cannot be helped; so let us push bravelyahead and see what may be seen."

It was quite dark in the hallway, now that theoutside door was shut, so as they stumbled along astone passage they kept close together, not knowingwhat danger was likely to befall them.

Suddenly a soft glow enveloped them. It grewbrighter, until they could see their surroundingsdistinctly. They had reached the end of the passage andbefore them was another huge door. This noiselesslyswung open before them, without the help of anyone, andthrough the doorway they observed a big chamber, thewalls of which were lined with plates of pure gold,highly polished.

This room was also lighted, although they coulddiscover no lamps, and in the center of it was a greattable at which sat an immense woman. She was clad insilver robes embroidered with gay floral designs, andwore over this splendid raiment a short apron ofelaborate lace-work. Such an apron was no protection,and was not in keeping with the handsome gown, but thehuge woman wore it, nevertheless. The table at whichshe sat was spread with a white cloth and had goldendishes upon it, so the travelers saw that they hadsurprised the Giantess while she was eating her supper.

She had her back toward them and did not even turnaround, but taking a biscuit from a dish she began tobutter it and said in a voice that was big and deep butnot especially unpleasant:

"Why don't you come in and allow the door to shut?You're causing a draught, and I shall catch cold andsneeze. When I sneeze, I get cross, and when I getcross I'm liable to do something wicked. Come in, youfoolish strangers; come in!"

Being thus urged, they entered the room andapproached the table, until they stood where they facedthe great Giantess. She continued eating, but smiled ina curious way as she looked at them. Woot noticed thatthe door had closed silently after they had entered,and that didn't please him at all.

"Well," said the Giantess, "what excuse have you tooffer?"

"We didn't know anyone lived here, Madam," explainedthe Scarecrow; "so, being travelers and strangers inthese parts, and wishing to find a place for our boyfriend to sleep, we ventured to enter your castle."

"You knew it was private property, I suppose?" saidshe, buttering another biscuit.

"We saw the words, 'Yoop Castle,' over the door, butwe knew that Mr. Yoop is a prisoner in a cage in a far-off part of the land of Oz, so we decided there was noone now at home and that we might use the castle forthe night."

"I see," remarked the Giantess, nodding her head andsmiling again in that curious way -- a way that madeWoot shudder. "You didn't know that Mr. Yoop wasmarried, or that after he was cruelly captured his wifestill lived in his castle and ran it to suit herself."

"Who captured Mr. Yoop?" asked Woot, looking gravelyat the big woman.

"Wicked enemies. People who selfishly objected toYoop's taking their cows and sheep for his food. I mustadmit, however, that Yoop had a bad temper, and had thehabit of knocking over a few houses, now and then, whenhe was angry. So one day the little folks came in agreat crowd and captured Mr. Yoop, and carried him awayto a cage somewhere in the mountains. I don't knowwhere it is, and I don't care, for my husband treatedme badly at times, forgetting the respect a giant owesto a giantess. Often he kicked me on my shins, when Iwouldn't wait on him. So I'm glad he is gone."

"It's a wonder the people didn't capture you, too,"remarked Woot.

"Well, I was too clever for them," said she, giving asudden laugh that caused such a breeze that the wobblyScarecrow was almost blown off his feet and had to grabhis friend Nick Chopper to steady himself. "I saw thepeople coining," continued Mrs. Yoop, "and knowing theymeant mischief I transformed myself into a mouse andhid in a cupboard. After they had gone away, carryingmy shin-kicking husband with them, I transformed myselfback to my former shape again, and here I've lived inpeace and comfort ever since."

"Are you a Witch, then? " inquired Woot.

"Well, not exactly a Witch," she replied, "but I'm anArtist in Transformations. In other words, I'm more ofa Yookoohoo than a Witch, and of course you know thatthe Yookoohoos are the cleverest magic-workers in theworld."

The travelers were silent for a time, uneasilyconsidering this statement and the effect it might haveon their future. No doubt the Giantess had wilfullymade them her prisoners; yet she spoke so cheerfully,in her big voice, that until now they had not beenalarmed in the least.

By and by the Scarecrow, whose mixed brains had beenworking steadily, asked the woman:

"Are we to consider you our friend, Mrs. Yoop, or doyou intend to be our enemy?"

"I never have friends," she said in a matter-of-facttone, "because friends get too familiar and alwaysforget to mind their own business. But I am not yourenemy; not yet, anyhow. Indeed, I'm glad you've come,for my life here is rather lonely. I've had no one totalk to since I transformed Polychrome, the Daughter ofthe Rainbow, into a canary-bird."

"How did you manage to do that?" asked the TinWoodman, in amazement. "Polychrome is a powerfulfairy!"

"She was," said the Giantess; "but now she's acanary-bird. One day after a rain, Polychrome dancedoff the Rainbow and fell asleep on a little mound inthis valley, not far from my castle. The sun came outand drove the Rainbow away, and before Poly wakened, Istole out and transformed her into a canary-bird in agold cage studded with diamonds. The cage was so shecouldn't fly away. I expected she'd sing and talk andwe'd have good times together; but she has proved nocompany for me at all. Ever since the moment of hertransformation, she has refused to speak a singleword."

"Where is she now?" inquired Woot, who had heard talesof lovely Polychrome and was much interested in her.

"The cage is hanging up in my bedroom," said theGiantess, eating another biscuit. The travelers werenow more uneasy and suspicious of the Giantess thanbefore. If Polychrome, the Rainbow's Daughter, who wasa real fairy, had been transformed and enslaved by thishuge woman, who claimed to be a Yookoohoo, what wasliable to happen to them? Said the Scarecrow, twistinghis stuffed head around in Mrs. Yoop's direction:

"Do you know, Ma'am, who we are?"

"Of course," said she; "a straw man, a tin man and a boy."

"We are very important people," declared the Tin Woodman.

"All the better," she replied. "I shall enjoy yoursociety the more on that account. For I mean to keepyou here as long as I live, to amuse me when I getlonely. And," she added slowly, "in this Valley no oneever dies."

They didn't like this speech at all, so the Scarecrowfrowned in a way that made Mrs. Yoop smile, whilethe Tin Woodman looked so fierce that Mrs. Yooplaughed. The Scarecrow suspected she was going tolaugh, so he slipped behind his friends to escape thewind from her breath. From this safe position hesaid warningly:

"We have powerful friends who will soon come torescue us."

"Let them come," she returned, with an accent ofscorn. "When they get here they will find neither aboy, nor a tin man, nor a scarecrow, for tomorrowmorning I intend to transform you all into othershapes, so that you cannot be recognized."

This threat filled them with dismay. The good-naturedGiantess was more terrible than they had imagined. Shecould smile and wear pretty clothes and at the sametime be even more cruel than her wicked husband had been.

Both the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman tried tothink of some way to escape from the castle beforemorning, but she seemed to read their thoughts andshook her head.

"Don't worry your poor brains," said she. "You can'tescape me, however hard you try. But why should youwish to escape? I shall give you new forms that aremuch better than the ones you now have. Be contentedwith your fate, for discontent leads to unhappiness,and unhappiness, in any form, is the greatest evil thatcan befall you."

"What forms do you intend to give us?" asked Wootearnestly.

"I haven't decided, as yet. I'll dream over ittonight, so in the morning I shall have made up my mindhow to transform you. Perhaps you'd prefer to chooseyour own transformations?"

"No," said Woot, "I prefer to remain as I am."

"That's funny," she retorted. "You are little, andyou're weak; as you are, you're not much account,anyhow. The best thing about you is that you're alive,for I shall be able to make of you some sort of livecreature which will be a great improvement on yourpresent form."

She took another biscuit from a plate and dipped itin a pot of honey and calmly began eating it.

The Scarecrow watched her thoughtfully.

"There are no fields of grain in your Valley," said he;"where, then. did you get the flour to make your biscuits?"

"Mercy me! do you think I'd bother to make biscuitsout of flour?" she replied. "That is altogether tootedious a process for a Yookoohoo. I set some trapsthis afternoon and caught a lot of field-mice, but as Ido not like to eat mice, I transformed them into hotbiscuits for my supper. The honey in this pot was oncea wasp's nest, but since being transformed it hasbecome sweet and delicious. All I need do, when I wishto eat, is to take something I don't care to keep, andtransform it into any sort of food I like, and eat it.Are you hungry?"

"I don't eat, thank you," said the Scarecrow.

"Nor do I," said the Tin Woodman.

"I have still a little natural food in my knapsack,"said Woot the Wanderer, "and I'd rather eat that thanany wasp's nest."

"Every one to his taste," said the Giantesscarelessly, and having now finished her supper she roseto her feet, clapped her hands together, and the suppertable at once disappeared.