Perhaps thinking that it had been a long time since anyone had tried to conquer Oz (the last attempt having been Ruggedo’s last attempt in The Gnome King of Oz), Thompson returned to that tried-and-true concept in her 1935 offering The Wishing Horse of Oz. This time the instigator was the latest in Thompson’s long line of fat, impulsive rulers, King Skamperoo.
Skamperoo ruled Skampavia, an arid kingdom situated between Ix and Merryland and comprised of seven small countries. A combination of disagreeable climate and Skamperoo’s own greed and laziness had reduced Skampavia to a pretty dreary place. On the day our tale begins, he was mediating a fight which had broken out between his seven provincial supervisors concerning a bag containing an emerald necklace.
Supervisor Twobyfour had acquired it from a merchant who said it, and two others, came from the Emerald City. Skamperoo demanded the peddler and the necklaces be brought to him. Learning from Prime Minister Pinny Penny that Oz was a huge country, but had only one soldier, Skamperoo decided he would conquer it.
Two days later, Twobyfour brought the slim and sinister merchant Matiah into the King’s presence. Seeking to make use of the bilious monarch, Matiah claimed to be a magician, and told him the necklaces could grant wishes, but only if he, Matiah, was wearing them. Skamperoo believed him and, in the royal garden, closed his eyes and wished, as Matiah made to sneak away and take the emeralds with him.
To his shock, the King’s wish came true! A magnificent white horse with a golden mane and tail appeared before him, giving his name as Chalk. The beast, an Ozite (so he said), was less than impressed with the King, but realizing the merchant’s treachery at once, put himself on Skamperoo’s side. After the King had formulated a grand wish that he planned to make next, Chalk privately told the King his suspicions.
To protect him from Matiah’s machinations, he and Skamperoo took all three necklaces and magically departed Skampavia.
Meanwhile in Oz, Joe King and Highboy prepared to travel from the Gilliken Country to the Emerald City, where a great celebration was soon to be held honoring the discovery of Oz by the Wizard and Princess Dorothy. Dignitaries from all over Oz were to attend the celebration, which would entail every sort of entertainment, even a circus arranged by Notta Bit More.
Also, the Scarecrow was preparing to make a speech, the Hungry Tiger was in charge of the food, Tik Tok was assigned to be Master of Ceremonies, and Scraps the Patch Work Girl was specially picked by Queen Ozma to carry her train. Dorothy shared her misgivings about that idea, but Scraps promised to be “so dignified I'll probably split a seam.”
Ozma and Dorothy then headed for the Wizard's laboratory to see what magical entertainments he was preparing for the picnic.
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