"Well, there was never a kindlier king anywhere," began Pajuka, shaking the water from his feathers.
"What kind?" asked Snip, biting into a plum. "How did he look?"
"Pleasant," explained Pajuka, putting one foot before the other and waddling from side to side in his queer goosey fashion. "He was tall and gentle and very absent-minded, and so kind that he never punished anyone at all."
"Then that's why there were so many witches," cried Snip triumphantly.
"Yes, and that's why it was so easy for Mombi to get him into her power," sighed Pajuka mournfully. "He would believe evil of no one—not even of a witch."
"Seems to me Ozma makes a better ruler," observed Snip, throwing his plum over a tree and standing on his tip toes to see how far it had gone. "She doesn't allow anyone to practice magic, excepting herself, Glinda and the Wizard." This is perfectly true and Oz has enjoyed under the littlest Princess in history an era of great peace and prosperity.
"Ozma is a pretender," insisted Pajuka stiffly.