Rinkitink in Oz
Encyclopedia
Rinkitink in Oz: Wherein is Recorded the Perilous Quest of Prince Inga of Pingaree and King Rinkitink in the Magical Isles that Lie Beyond the Borderland of Oz. is the tenth book
in the Land of Oz
series written by L. Frank Baum
. Published on June 20, 1916, with full-color and black-and-white illustrations by artist John R. Neill
, it is significant that no one from Oz appears in the book until its climax
; this is due to Baum having originally written most of the book as an original fantasy novel over ten years earlier, in 1905. Most of the action takes place on three islands — Pingaree, Regos, and Coregos — and within the Nome King
's caverns. Since the original ruler of the nomes, Roquat — who later re-named himself Ruggedo, was deposed in 1914's Tik-Tok of Oz
, Baum had to cleverly rework the tale to accommodate his selfish but well-intentioned replacement, Kaliko.
The book was dedicated to the author's newborn grandson Robert Alison Baum, the first child of the author's second son Robert Stanton Baum.
that surrounds the Land of Oz. Many years before this story begins, the armies of Regos and Coregos sought to invade Pingaree, but their advance was repelled by Pingaree's king with the help of three magic
pearl
s given to him by the Mermaids. The Blue Pearl gave the king superhuman
strength, the Pink Pearl protected him from any form of harm, and the White Pearl provided words of wisdom that only he could hear. Buoyed by the Pearl's magic powers, the king of Pingaree led his people to victory and the invaders from Regos and Coregos drowned on the return trip.
At the beginning of Rinkitink in Oz King Kitticut and Queen Garee, the son and daughter-in-law of the victorious king are introduced. Their son Inga is coming of age to learn the secret of the pearls, and one day Kitticut reveals their secret hiding place to Inga. The next day, a royal visitor arrives at the island—King Rinkitink of Gilgad, a jovial and pleasantly plump fellow on royal holiday who remains on the island as Kitticut's guest for several weeks. Rinkitink's companion, other than the rowers from Gilgad, is a surly goat
named Bilbil who seems to be Rinkitink's opposite in attitude.
Invaders from Regos and Coregos come again to Pingaree and seize the king before he can grab the pearls. All of the buildings are torn down, and all of the people are carried into slavery
. The only ones remaining on the island are Inga, who was able to successfully hide in a collapsed building, Bilbil the goat, and Rinkitink, who escaped his pursuers by falling into a well. Inga realizes the only way he will be able to free his family and people is with the help of the magic pearls, so he comes to the palace floor to retrieve them. To make sure the pearls are not lost, he hides one each in the toes of his shoes and carries the speaking White Pearl with him. The White Pearl guides him to a boat the following morning, which he, Bilbil, and Rinkitink begin to row toward the island of Regos.
Regos and Coregos are ruled by a wicked king and queen respectively, and they see no reason they cannot capture Inga and his companions too. However, none of King Gos of Regos’ forces can lay a hand on Inga, Rinkitink, or Bilbil when they are touching each other due to the Pink Pearl's power. They stride into the royal palace with the strength conferred by the Blue Pearl and force Gos and his evil forces to flee the island to Coregos and then free the king's slaves.
Inga and Rinkitink wake the next morning and the Pink Pearl is gone—it was in the shoe that Rinkitink threw at a howling cat the previous night. At a loss, Inga tells Rinkitink about the power of the Pearls and attempts to bluff Gos and his wife, Queen Cor, into believing he still has the power of the Pearls. Cor uses diplomacy and trickery to capture him and Rinkitink and bring them to serve her on Coregos.
Nikobob, a woodchopper on Regos, finds the discarded shoes (unaware that they contain the Blue and Pink Pearls) and plans to give them to his daughter Zella. While he has the shoes, however, he encounters the giant worm Choggenmugger and chops it into pieces—something he couldn't do without the pearls. Zella is wearing the shoes with the pearls inside when she delivers honey
to Queen Cor on Coregos, Inga recognizes the shoes, and he exchanges them with Zella. Now with the Pearls in his possession, he defeats Cor and sends her fleeing to Regos with the captive Queen Garee. The captives from Pingaree and all the other places the invaders have been are now free except for Inga's parents.
To consolidate the situation of Regos and Coregos, Inga offers to make Nikobob king
of the islands, which he adamantly refuses. He instead asks to go himself with his family to Pingaree. They learn from a palace guard that Gos and Cor took King Kitticut and Queen Garee to the underground caverns of the Nome King
, and Inga, Rinkitink, and Bilbil set out after them.
Although Kaliko is a kinder Nome King than the previous one, he considers himself bound by his word to King Gos and Queen Cor and has Kitticut and Garee kept prisoner. Before Inga, Rinkitink, and Bilbil enter the underground kingdom, Rinkitink asks Inga to loan him the Pink Pearl in case they are separated. They are welcomed cordially enough by the Nomes and spend the night underground, but the next day Rinkitink and Bilbil have an audience with King Kaliko who is unable to harm them together while Inga works his way through the Three Trick Caverns with his strength and the White Pearl's Wisdom.
Princess Ozma
, the ruler of Oz, is viewing what's happening to Inga, Rinkitink, and Bilbil through her Magic Picture and Dorothy
and the Wizard of Oz
go to free them, King Kitticut, and Queen Garee and Dorothy herself carries a basket of egg
s to keep the Nomes from attacking her. The reunited father, mother, and son with Bilbil and Rinkitink journey to the Emerald City
, where it is revealed that Bilbil is actually enchanted himself.
Bilbil is actually Prince Bobo of Boboland, and the enchanter who transformed him into a goat is long since dead; however, Glinda
is able to change him back to human form. This also cures his bad disposition, which was a cover for Bobo/Bilbil's ill feelings. After a celebration, Kitticut, Garee, Inga, Rinkitink, and Bobo return to the rebuilt island of Pingaree for a victory celebration. Soon afterwards, to his sadness, Rinkitink must return home to Gilgad...but accompanied by his friend Prince Bobo.
In 1939, Rinkitink in Oz was one of six Oz books specially re-issued by Rand McNally
in a condensed, small-format "junior edition" for young readers, as a promotion for the MGM film of The Wizard of Oz
.
The Oz books
The Oz books form a book series that begins with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz , and that relates the fictional history of the Land of Oz. Oz was created by author L. Frank Baum, who went on to write fourteen full-length Oz books, all of which are in the public domain in the United States...
in the Land of Oz
Land of Oz
Oz is a fantasy region containing four lands under the rule of one monarch.It was first introduced in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, one of many fantasy countries that he created for his books. It achieved a popularity that none of his other works attained, and after four years, he...
series written by L. Frank Baum
L. Frank Baum
Lyman Frank Baum was an American author of children's books, best known for writing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
. Published on June 20, 1916, with full-color and black-and-white illustrations by artist John R. Neill
John R. Neill
John Rea Neill was a magazine and children's book illustrator primarily known for illustrating more than forty stories set in the Land of Oz, including L. Frank Baum's, Ruth Plumly Thompson's, and three of his own. His pen-and-ink drawings have become identified almost exclusively with the Oz series...
, it is significant that no one from Oz appears in the book until its climax
Climax (narrative)
The Climax is the point in the story where the main character's point of view changes, or the most exciting/action filled part of the story. It also known has the main turning point in the story...
; this is due to Baum having originally written most of the book as an original fantasy novel over ten years earlier, in 1905. Most of the action takes place on three islands — Pingaree, Regos, and Coregos — and within the Nome King
Nome King
The Nome King is a fictional character in L. Frank Baum's Oz books. Although the Wicked Witch of the West is the most famous of Oz's villains , the Nome King is the closest the book series has to a main antagonist.-In the novels:The character called the Nome King is originally named Roquat the Red...
's caverns. Since the original ruler of the nomes, Roquat — who later re-named himself Ruggedo, was deposed in 1914's Tik-Tok of Oz
Tik-Tok of Oz
Tik-Tok of Oz is the eighth Land of Oz book written by L. Frank Baum, published on June 19, 1914. The book actually has little to do with Tik-Tok and is primarily the quest of the Shaggy Man to rescue his brother, and his resulting conflict with the Nome King.The endpapers of the first edition...
, Baum had to cleverly rework the tale to accommodate his selfish but well-intentioned replacement, Kaliko.
The book was dedicated to the author's newborn grandson Robert Alison Baum, the first child of the author's second son Robert Stanton Baum.
Plot summary
Pingaree is an island in the Nonestic Ocean that surrounds the fairy countries that encircle the Deadly DesertDeadly Desert
The Deadly Desert is the magical desert that completely surrounds the fictional Land of Oz. On maps, the Eastern quadrant of the desert is called the Deadly Desert, while the other three quadrants of desert are called the Shifting Sands, the Impassable Desert, and the Great Sandy Waste.The desert...
that surrounds the Land of Oz. Many years before this story begins, the armies of Regos and Coregos sought to invade Pingaree, but their advance was repelled by Pingaree's king with the help of three magic
Magic (paranormal)
Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...
pearl
Pearl
A pearl is a hard object produced within the soft tissue of a living shelled mollusk. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is made up of calcium carbonate in minute crystalline form, which has been deposited in concentric layers. The ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth, but many other...
s given to him by the Mermaids. The Blue Pearl gave the king superhuman
Superhuman
Superhuman can mean an improved human, for example, by genetic modification, cybernetic implants, or as what humans might evolve into, in the near or distant future...
strength, the Pink Pearl protected him from any form of harm, and the White Pearl provided words of wisdom that only he could hear. Buoyed by the Pearl's magic powers, the king of Pingaree led his people to victory and the invaders from Regos and Coregos drowned on the return trip.
At the beginning of Rinkitink in Oz King Kitticut and Queen Garee, the son and daughter-in-law of the victorious king are introduced. Their son Inga is coming of age to learn the secret of the pearls, and one day Kitticut reveals their secret hiding place to Inga. The next day, a royal visitor arrives at the island—King Rinkitink of Gilgad, a jovial and pleasantly plump fellow on royal holiday who remains on the island as Kitticut's guest for several weeks. Rinkitink's companion, other than the rowers from Gilgad, is a surly goat
Goat
The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...
named Bilbil who seems to be Rinkitink's opposite in attitude.
Invaders from Regos and Coregos come again to Pingaree and seize the king before he can grab the pearls. All of the buildings are torn down, and all of the people are carried into slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
. The only ones remaining on the island are Inga, who was able to successfully hide in a collapsed building, Bilbil the goat, and Rinkitink, who escaped his pursuers by falling into a well. Inga realizes the only way he will be able to free his family and people is with the help of the magic pearls, so he comes to the palace floor to retrieve them. To make sure the pearls are not lost, he hides one each in the toes of his shoes and carries the speaking White Pearl with him. The White Pearl guides him to a boat the following morning, which he, Bilbil, and Rinkitink begin to row toward the island of Regos.
Regos and Coregos are ruled by a wicked king and queen respectively, and they see no reason they cannot capture Inga and his companions too. However, none of King Gos of Regos’ forces can lay a hand on Inga, Rinkitink, or Bilbil when they are touching each other due to the Pink Pearl's power. They stride into the royal palace with the strength conferred by the Blue Pearl and force Gos and his evil forces to flee the island to Coregos and then free the king's slaves.
Inga and Rinkitink wake the next morning and the Pink Pearl is gone—it was in the shoe that Rinkitink threw at a howling cat the previous night. At a loss, Inga tells Rinkitink about the power of the Pearls and attempts to bluff Gos and his wife, Queen Cor, into believing he still has the power of the Pearls. Cor uses diplomacy and trickery to capture him and Rinkitink and bring them to serve her on Coregos.
Nikobob, a woodchopper on Regos, finds the discarded shoes (unaware that they contain the Blue and Pink Pearls) and plans to give them to his daughter Zella. While he has the shoes, however, he encounters the giant worm Choggenmugger and chops it into pieces—something he couldn't do without the pearls. Zella is wearing the shoes with the pearls inside when she delivers honey
Honey
Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...
to Queen Cor on Coregos, Inga recognizes the shoes, and he exchanges them with Zella. Now with the Pearls in his possession, he defeats Cor and sends her fleeing to Regos with the captive Queen Garee. The captives from Pingaree and all the other places the invaders have been are now free except for Inga's parents.
To consolidate the situation of Regos and Coregos, Inga offers to make Nikobob king
Monarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
of the islands, which he adamantly refuses. He instead asks to go himself with his family to Pingaree. They learn from a palace guard that Gos and Cor took King Kitticut and Queen Garee to the underground caverns of the Nome King
Nome King
The Nome King is a fictional character in L. Frank Baum's Oz books. Although the Wicked Witch of the West is the most famous of Oz's villains , the Nome King is the closest the book series has to a main antagonist.-In the novels:The character called the Nome King is originally named Roquat the Red...
, and Inga, Rinkitink, and Bilbil set out after them.
Although Kaliko is a kinder Nome King than the previous one, he considers himself bound by his word to King Gos and Queen Cor and has Kitticut and Garee kept prisoner. Before Inga, Rinkitink, and Bilbil enter the underground kingdom, Rinkitink asks Inga to loan him the Pink Pearl in case they are separated. They are welcomed cordially enough by the Nomes and spend the night underground, but the next day Rinkitink and Bilbil have an audience with King Kaliko who is unable to harm them together while Inga works his way through the Three Trick Caverns with his strength and the White Pearl's Wisdom.
Princess Ozma
Princess Ozma
Princess Ozma is a fictional character in the Land of Oz, created by L. Frank Baum. She appears in every book of the series except the first, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz .She is the rightful ruler of Oz, and L...
, the ruler of Oz, is viewing what's happening to Inga, Rinkitink, and Bilbil through her Magic Picture and Dorothy
Dorothy Gale
Dorothy Gale is the protagonist of many of the Oz novels by American author L. Frank Baum, and the best friend of Oz's ruler Princess Ozma. Dorothy first appears in Baum's classic children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and reappears in most of its sequels...
and the Wizard of Oz
Wizard (Oz)
The Wizard of Oz, known during his reign as The Great and Powerful Oz, is the epithet of Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkel Emmannuel Ambroise Diggs, a fictional character in the Land of Oz, created by American author L...
go to free them, King Kitticut, and Queen Garee and Dorothy herself carries a basket of egg
Egg (food)
Eggs are laid by females of many different species, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, and have probably been eaten by mankind for millennia. Bird and reptile eggs consist of a protective eggshell, albumen , and vitellus , contained within various thin membranes...
s to keep the Nomes from attacking her. The reunited father, mother, and son with Bilbil and Rinkitink journey to the Emerald City
Emerald City
The Emerald City is the fictional capital city of the Land of Oz in L. Frank Baum's Oz books, first described in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
, where it is revealed that Bilbil is actually enchanted himself.
Bilbil is actually Prince Bobo of Boboland, and the enchanter who transformed him into a goat is long since dead; however, Glinda
Glinda
Glinda is a fictional character in the Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum. She is the most powerful sorceress of Oz, ruler of the Quadling Country south of the Emerald City, and protector of Princess Ozma.- Literature :Baum's 1900 children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
is able to change him back to human form. This also cures his bad disposition, which was a cover for Bobo/Bilbil's ill feelings. After a celebration, Kitticut, Garee, Inga, Rinkitink, and Bobo return to the rebuilt island of Pingaree for a victory celebration. Soon afterwards, to his sadness, Rinkitink must return home to Gilgad...but accompanied by his friend Prince Bobo.
In 1939, Rinkitink in Oz was one of six Oz books specially re-issued by Rand McNally
Rand McNally
Rand McNally is an American publisher of maps, atlases, textbooks, and globes for travel, reference, commercial, and educational uses. It also provides online consumer street maps and directions, as well as commercial transportation routing software and mileage data...
in a condensed, small-format "junior edition" for young readers, as a promotion for the MGM film of The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...
.