"I'll tell you. The forests of Oz are full of beasts. Some of
them, in the far-away places, are savage and cruel, and would gladly
follow a leader as savage as themselves. They have never troubled the
Oz people much, because they had no leader to urge them on, but we
will tell them to help us conquer Oz and as a reward we will transform
all the beasts into men and women, and let them live in the houses and
enjoy all the good things; and we will transform all the people of Oz
into beasts of various sorts, and send them to live in the forests and
the jungles. That is a splendid idea, you must admit, and it's so easy
that we won't have any trouble at all to carry it through to success."

"Will the beasts consent, do you think?" asked the boy.

"To be sure they will. We can get every beast in Oz on our
side--except a few who live in Ozma's palace, and they won't count."



4. Conspirators


Kiki Aru didn't know much about Oz and didn't know much about the
beasts who lived there, but the old Nome's plan seemed to him to be
quite reasonable. He had a faint suspicion that Ruggedo meant to get
the best of him in some way, and he resolved to keep a close watch on
his fellow-conspirator. As long as he kept to himself the secret word
of the transformations, Ruggedo would not dare to harm him, and he
promised himself that as soon as they had conquered Oz, he would transform
the old Nome into a marble statue and keep him in that form forever.