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Rinkitink in Oz is the 10th book in L. Frank Baum's series of Oz books.

Baum dedicated the book to his recently-born grandson Robert Alison Baum, the child of Baum's second son Robert Stanton Baum.

The wiki offers the full text of Rinkitink in Oz.

Summary[]

King Kitticut, who rules the island of Pingaree in the Nonestic Ocean, tells his son Prince Inga about the secret defenses of their country. Pingaree was once invaded by the armies of Regos and Coregos, two neighboring islands to the north. The invaders were defeated through the use of three Magic Pearls, gifts of the mermaids. The Blue Pearl gives superhuman strength; the Pink Pearl protects the bearer from all harm; and the White Pearl provides words of guidance that only the bearer can hear. Using these pearls, Kitticut's father and predecessor had led his people in an effective resistance against the invasion; the forces of Regos and Coregos were driven out, and drowned on their journey home. Inga has become old enough to learn these secrets, and Kitticut tells his son of the pearls' secret hiding place.

The next day, Pingaree receives a royal visit from Rinkitink, king of the country of the same name, a plump and jovial neighboring ruler. Rinkitink is accompanied by his surly talking goat Bilbil.

A surprise attack from Regos and Coregos lands suddenly, and seizes King Kitticut before he can make use of the magic pearls. The island is devastated and the inhabitants consigned to slavery. Inga evades the enemy by remaining hidden high in a tree, while Rinkitink accidentally falls down a well. Once the island is deserted, Inga rescues the king, finds the goat (who had been ignored by the invaders), and retrieves the pearls. The three row to Regos where things go well, at first; the pearls work as they should, rendering the three impervious to the enemies' actions. King Gos and his forces flee to Coregos.

Success, however, depends on the continuing possession of the three pearls. The pink and blue pearls are accidentally lost. (Inga hides them in his shoes; Rinkitink throws one of the shoes at a howling cat in the night, and the other is discarded by a servant.) Inga tries to bluff his way through; but Queen Cor of Coregos is too clever for him, and captures the three resistors.

The shoes are found by Nikobob, a poor charcoal-burner of Regos. He gives them to his daughter Zella, who wears the shoes when she delivers honey to Queen Cor. Inga sees his old shoes, and trades for them with Zella. Possessing the pearls once again, Inga defeats Cor and sends her fleeing — though she retains Inga's parents as prisoners. Inga and friends follow a trail to the Nome Kingdom; Nome king Kaliko, an ally of Gos and Cor, is holding King Kitticut and Queen Garee for them. Using the pearls, Rinkitink and Bilbil survive Kaliko's assault and Inga is reunited with his parents. Princess Ozma, watching events in her Magic Picture, sends Dorothy to the rescue with a basket of eggs, poisonous to Nomes.

Inga and his parents and companions come to the Emerald City. There, it is learned that Bilbil the goat is suffering under an enchantment; he is actually Prince Bobo of Boboland. Glinda is able to reverse the enchantment. After a celebration, Inga and company return to Pingaree.

The many captured slaves of Regos and Coregos are liberated and allowed to return to their home countries. Nikobob and Zella are rescued from poverty when Nikobob comes to Pingaree to oversee its rebuilding.

Characters[]

Chapters[]

  1. The Prince of Pingaree
  2. The Coming of King Rinkitink
  3. The Warriors from the North
  4. The Deserted Island
  5. The Three Pearls
  6. The Magic Boat
  7. The Twin Islands
  8. Rinkitink Makes a Great Mistake
  9. A Present for Zella
  10. The Cunning of Queen Cor
  11. Zella Goes to Coregos
  12. The Excitement of Bilbil the Goat
  13. Zella Saves the Prince
  14. The Escape
  15. The Flight of the Rulers
  16. Nikobob Refuses a Crown
  17. The Nome King
  18. Inga Parts With His Pink Pearl
  19. Rinkitink Chuckles
  20. Dorothy to the Rescue
  21. The Wizard Finds an Enchantment
  22. Ozma's Banquet
  23. The Pearl Kingdom
  24. The Captive King

Background[]

In 1910, Baum had tried to end the Oz series after six books; he wanted to tell other types of fantasies. His subsequent books The Sea Fairies (1911) and Sky Island (1912) are examples of what he had in mind; and Rinkitink is another. The latter book was originally an independent novel, unconnected with Oz. Reader demands and financial pressures persuaded Baum to revitalize the Oz series in 1913 so he recast Rinkitink with an Oz-related ending and published it as the tenth Oz book.

In 1939, Rand-McNally issued six Oz books in condensed, reduced-format "junior editions," to coincide with the release of the MGM film. Rinkitink in Oz was one of the six.

In 2017, The International Wizard of Oz Club commissioned a new version entitled King Rinkitink (book) that provides a new non-Oz ending per Baum's intent. New material was written by Andrew Heller featuring illustrations from Javi Laparra. Heller had won their contest allowing authors to submit their own endings.

King Rinkitink and Bilbil are foreshadowed by the similar Old King Cole and his donkey in "Old King Cole," one of the tales in Baum's 1897 collection Mother Goose in Prose.

Influences[]

Baum casts a king and queen as the villains of Rinkitink; King Gos is tough and forceful, but Queen Cor is smarter and more effective. Jack Snow follows Baum's example with his King Umb and Queen Ra in The Magical Mimics in Oz (1946).

Sherwood Smith uses Prince Inga as an important character in her modern Oz book Trouble Under Oz (2006).

Gallery[]

External links[]

L. Frank Baum's Oz books
1. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz 2. The Marvelous Land of Oz 3. Ozma of Oz 4. Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz 5. The Road to Oz 6. The Emerald City of Oz 7. The Patchwork Girl of Oz 8. Tik-Tok of Oz 9. The Scarecrow of Oz 10. Rinkitink in Oz 11. The Lost Princess of Oz 12. The Tin Woodman of Oz 13. The Magic of Oz 14. Glinda of Oz
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