“Not unless you call me magic. I carried you off in the night. Did you suppose old Kabumpo was going to stand quietly by while they married you to a faggotty old fairy like Faleero? Not much,” wheezed the Elegant Elephant. “I have other plans for you, little one!”
“But this is terrible!” cried the Prince, catching hold of a tree. “Here you have left my poor old father, my lovely mother, and the whole Kingdom of Pumperdink to disappear. We’ll have to go right straight back—right straight back to Pumperdink. Do you hear?”
“Do have a little sense!” Kabumpo shook himself crossly. “You can’t save them by going back. The thing to do is to go forward, find the Proper Princess and marry her. No scroll magic takes effect for seven days, anyway!”
“How do you know?” asked Pompa anxiously.
“Read it in a witch book,” answered Kabumpo promptly. “Now, that gives us plenty of time to go to the Emerald City and present ourselves to the lovely ruler of Oz. There’s a Proper Princess for you, Pompa!”
“But suppose she refuses me,” said the Prince uncertainly.
“You’re very handsome, Pompa, my boy.” The Elegant Elephant gave the Prince a playful poke with his trunk. “I’ve brought all my jewels as gifts and the magic mirror and door knob as well. If she refuses you and the worst comes to the worst”—Kabumpo cleared his throat gravely—“well—just leave it to me!”
After a bit more coaxing and after eating the breakfast Kabumpo had thoughtfully brought along, Pompa allowed the Elegant Elephant to lift him on his head and off they set at Kabumpo’s best speed for the Emerald City of Oz.
Neither the Prince nor the Elegant Elephant had ever been out of Pumperdink, but Kabumpo had found an old map of Oz in the palace library. According to this map, the Emerald City lay directly to the South of their own country. “So all we have to do is to keep going South,” chuckled Kabumpo softly. Pompadore nodded, but he was trying to recall the exact words of the mysterious scroll:
“Know Ye, that unless ye Prince of ye ancient and honorable Kingdom of Pumperdink shall wed ye Proper Fairy Princess in ye proper span of time ye Kingdom of Pumperdink shall disappear forever and even longer from ye Gilliken Country of Oz. J. G.”