The final book written by the original author, L. Frank Baum. I feel like this was a pretty great closer. It included a plethora of characters, and utilized all of the main and most powerful characters like Glinda, Ozma, and the Wizard. The adventure was interesting and the conflict difficult to overcome, but all ended well as it should. I also appreciate the fact that he left the story open ended, saying that the Land of Oz was so extensive that at the time of this book Ozma couldn't possibly be aware of all of the different people. Which is why it makes sense other authors took this story onward into 29 more stories. I'm not sure I'm in any rush to read further into this story, past L. Frank Baum's imagination, but I'm glad I did read these and had the experience of these truly classic style tales.
"If one were a fairy and knew the secret laws of nature and the mystic words and ceremonies that commanded those laws, then a simple wave of a silver wand would produce instantly all that men work hard and anxiously for through weary years. And Dorothy wished in her kindly, innocent heart, that all men and women could be fairies with silver wands, and satisfy all their needs without so much work and worry, for then, she imagined, they would have all their working hours to be happy in."
"If everyone could wave a wand and have his wants fulfilled there would be little to wish for. There would be no eager striving to obtain the difficult, for nothing would then be difficult, and the pleasure of earning something longed for, and only to be secured by hard work and careful thought, would be utterly lost. There would be nothing to do you see, and no interest in life and in our fellow creatures. That is all that makes life worth our while - to do good deeds and to help those less fortunate than ourselves."
"I'm glad I don't know everything, Dorothy, and that there still are things in both nature and in wit for me to marvel at."
"No dishes, to wash, Ozma! I guess you'd make a lot of folks happy if you could teach 'em just that one trick."
"Everybody here is a dictator of something or other. They're all office holders. That's what keeps them contended. But I'm the Supreme Dictator of all, and I'm elected once a year. This is a democracy, you know, where the people are allowed to vote for their rulers. A good many others would like to be Supreme Dictator, but as I made a low that I am always to count the votes myself, I am always elected."
"In such a dilemma, nothing is gained by haste. Careful thought may aid us, and so many the course of events. The unexpected is always likely to happen, and cheerful patience is better than reckless action."
"The Patchwork Girl was very intelligent, but so full of fun and mad pranks that a lot of more stupid folks thought she must be crazy."
"The voice of a swan is always harsh and unpleasant."
The final moral of the original canon stories is:
"It is always wise to do one's duty, however unpleasant that duty may seem to be."
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