THE PLANS OF URFIN JUS

One time, Urfin sat on the porch and listened how in the house, the bear hide and Guamoko argued

"You don't like master," grumbled the hide. "You intentionally were silent when he brought the antlers to life, even though you knew it was dangerous... You still are defiant, still defiant. I had a good look at your brother when I lived in the forest. Be careful, I will get you…

"Hoo-hoo-hoo," teased the owl from a high pole. "Well, you definetly scared me you empty chatterbox."

"It's true that I am empty," admitted the hide. "I'll ask master to fill me with straw, because I have poor balancing, any breeze can knock me over.

"That's a good idea," noticed Urfin, "I'll have to do that.

The voices in the room started to get louder, until finally Urfin angrily shouted:

"Hey, you over there! Quiet!"

The debaters continued to argue , whispering.

Urfin started to build plans for the future. Of course, he needed to get a higher ranking in the Blue Land. He knew, that the Munchkins chose a respected elder named Pren Cocus as their ruler after the death of the Wicked Witch of the East.

Under his rule, the Munchkins lived freely and happily.

Coming into his house, Urfin started walking around his room. The owl and the hide stopped talking. Jus reasoned verbally with himself:

"Why does Pren Cocus rule the Munchkins? Is he smarter than me? Is he as good a master as me?" Urfin proudly stood up straight, buffed out his chest. "No, Pren Cocus is far behind me!"

The bear hide proudly added:

"You're right master, you have a very intimidating look!"

"Nobody asked you," barked Urfin and continued: "Pren Cocus is richer than me, that's true. He has a very big field on which are a lot of workers. But now, when I have a magic powder, I can make as much workers as I want, they will clear away the forest, and I too will have a large estate... Wait! What if they aren't workers, but soldiers? Yes! I will make a lot of fierce, strong soldiers , and then the Munchkins won't dare not to admit me as their ruler!

Urfin started to run around the room in excitement.

"Even that darn little clown bit me so hard that the bite still hurts," thought Urfin, "and if I make wooden soldiers the size of humans, teach them to wield weapons... Then I could have as much power as the Wizard of Oz himself!.."

But then the carpenter frightfully shut his mouth: he thought he said those rude words. What if they were heard by the Wizard? Urfin slumped his head into his shoulders and was expecting a hit from an invisible hand. But everything was fine, and Jus calmed down.

"I have to be more careful," he thought, "To start, I'll be content with Blue Land. But later..."

But he decided not to go on.

Urfin Jus knew the beauty and riches of Emerald City. In his youth, he had the luck to visit it during a festival, and the memories haven't left him.

Urfin remembered seeing wonderful buildings: their higher stories where wider than the lower ones, like an upside-down pyramid. The bridge was always cool and shady, the rays of the sun didn't reach there. Everyone there was wearing green glasses, and the strange glow of the emeralds did not just come from the walls of the buildings, but also from the rocks of the bridges…

So much treasure! The wizard didn't have an army to protect them-he only had one warrior named Din Geor. Anyway, why would the wizard need a huge army when he could exterminate all his enemies with a single look?

Din Geor only had only one thing to do: take care of his beard. And it was quite some beard! It reached to the floor. The solder combed his hair all day with a crystal comb.

During the festival, Din Geor showed his fighting moves for the entertainment of the public. The spectators marveled at his skill with the sword, spear, and shield.

When the festival was over, Urfin walked over to Din Geor and asked:

"Oh great Din Geor, I can't tell you how amazed I am. Tell me, where did you learn those moves."

The flattered soldier answered:

"In the old days, there were a lot of wars. I read that in a chronicle. I found an ancient writing that told about how the troops were trained, what the fighting moves where, how and what orders were given. I studied everything and tried doing it, practiced... and here are the results!"

To practice teaching the techniques of the soldier, Urfin decided to work with the clown.

"Clown!" he shouted, "where are you?"

"I'm here master," a squeaky voice answered from a chest. "Are you hit me again?"

"Get out and don't be afraid, I'm not angry at you. And since you are now alive, I will give you a name: you will be called Eot Ling."

Eot Ling got out of hiding.

"Now I'll see what you are capable of," said Urfin, "Can you march?"

"What is that master?"

"Don't call me master, call me ruler! I'm talking to you too, bear hide!"

"Yes ruler!" answered the clown and the bear hide in one voice.

"To march is to walk, raising your knees up, and turn left or right when ordered."

Eot Ling turned out to be a fast learner and quickly got down the soldier training, but he couldn't pick up the wooden saber that Urfin made, and any fingers that Urfin tried to put on just ended up, as fists.

"I'll have to give my future soldiers good long fingers," Urfin decided.

The training lasted all day. Urfin got tired of giving orders, but the clown had been fresh the entire time, never showed any sign of fatigue. Of course, that was to be expected, how can wood get tired?

During the lesson, the bear hide watched with admiration, and quietly repeated all of its ruler's orders. Guamoko just stared spitefully with his yellow eyes.

Urfin was impressed. But he suddenly had a disturbing thought: what if someone stole the life powder?

He then closed his door and locked it, secured the door to the basement, where the powder was stored, with some boards, but he still slept in fear, woke up with every "thump" and "creak".

Now he could give back the Munchkins their metal sheets, that the carpenter did not need anymore. Jus decided that his new appearance in the town should be memorable. He the remade cart into a wagon, so he could harness the bear hide to it. And then he remembered the conversation of the bear hide and the owl that he eavesdropped.

"Listen bear hide!" he said. "I noticed that you are too light and unbalanced when you walk, and decided to fill you with straw and tanbark."

"Oh ruler, you are very wise!" cried the simple-hearted bear skin.

In the back yard, Urfin got a load of materials, and then he quickly filled the hide with it. Jus started to think.

"Listen bear hide," he said. "I will give you a name too."

"Oh, ruler!" the bear hide cried in glee. "Is it going to be as long, as the owl's.

"No," Urfin dryly answered. "Quite the opposite, it will be short. You will be called Topotun."

The bear really liked his new name.

"Great!" he yelled. "I have the most well-sounded name in Blue Land. To-po-tun! Now let's see if that owl tries to annoy me!"

Topotun proudly went out to the yard, happily grumbling:

"Now I feel like a real bear."

Later that day, Urfin harnessed Topotun to the wagon, brought with him Guamoko and the clown, and, with the cargo, rode into town. The metal sheets banged against each other each time the wagon wheels bumped against something, and the frightened Munchkins ran away in crowds.

"Urfin Jus is a mighty wizard," they whispered amongst each other. "He brought a bear that had been dead for a year back to life."

Jus listened to those conversations, and his heart overflowed with pride. He ordered the house maids to take the metal sheets, and they, frightfully looking at the bear and the owl, quickly emptied the wagon.

"Do you understand now, who is in charge here?" Urfin asked harshly.

"We understand," said the Munchkins shyly and started crying.

At home, Urfin Jus decided that he should use the powder very carefully. He ordered the a metalworker to make several metal buckets with tightly attached locks, put the powder in them, and buried them under a tree in his yard. He no longer believed in the safety of the basement.