When all this is considered, you will not be surprised that the
people throughout the Land of Oz, as well as Ozma's most intimate
friends and her royal courtiers, were eager to celebrate her birthday,
and made preparations for the festival weeks in advance. All the
brass bands practiced their nicest tunes, for they were to march in
the numerous processions to be made in the Winkie Country, the
Gillikin Country, the Munchkin Country and the Quadling Country, as
well as in the Emerald City. Not all the people could go to
congratulate their Ruler, but all could celebrate her birthday, in one
way or another, however far distant from her palace they might be.
Every home and building throughout the Land of Oz was to be decorated
with banners and bunting, and there were to be games, and plays, and a
general good time for every one.
It was Ozma's custom on her birthday to give a grand feast at the
palace, to which all her closest friends were invited. It was a
queerly assorted company, indeed, for there are more quaint and unusual
characters in Oz than in all the rest of the world, and Ozma was more
interested in unusual people than in ordinary ones--just as you and I are.
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