she had made and could not easily be turned from her
purpose. Moreover she could see no great danger to the
fairy Ruler of Oz in the undertaking, even though the
unknown people she was to visit proved obstinate. But
Dorothy was not a fairy; she was a little girl who had
come from Kansas to live in the Land of Oz. Dorothy
might encounter dangers that to Ozma would be as
nothing but to an "Earth child" would be very serious.

The very fact that Dorothy lived in Oz, and had been
made a Princess by her friend Ozma, prevented her from
being killed or suffering any great bodily pain as long
as she lived in that fairyland. She could not grow big,
either, and would always remain the same little girl
who had come to Oz, unless in some way she left that
fairyland or was spirited away from it. But Dorothy was
a mortal, nevertheless, and might possibly be
destroyed, or hidden where none of her friends could
ever find her. She could, for instance be cut into
pieces, and the pieces, while still alive and free from
pain, could be widely scattered; or she might be buried
deep underground or "destroyed" in other ways by evil
magicians, were she not properly protected. These facts
Glinda was considering while she paced with stately
tread her marble hall.

Finally the good Sorceress paused and drew a ring
from her finger, handing it to Dorothy.

"Wear this ring constantly until your return," she