The Golden Cap--Oz pages 35-36

Hello lovelies! The next few illustrations have to do with the Winged Monkeys. Yes they appear in the film and are referred to as the Flying Monkeys, but in the film we don’t know why the witch can command them. We just presume they are evil and work for her because she is evil, but the book takes a different tactic.

 There was, in her cupboard, a Golden Cap, with a circle of diamonds and rubies running round it. This Golden Cap had a charm. Whoever owned it could call three times upon the Winged Monkeys, who would obey any order they were given. But no person could command these strange creatures more than three times. Twice already the Wicked Witch had used the charm of the Cap. Once was when she had made the Winkies her slaves and set herself to rule over their country. The Winged Monkeys had helped her do this. The second time was when she had fought against the Great Oz himself  and driven him out of the land of the West. The Winged Monkeys had also helped her in doing this. Only once more could she use this Golden Cap, for which reason she did not like to do so until all her other powers were exhausted. But now that her fierce wolves and her wild crows and her stinging bees were gone, and her slaves had been scared away by the Cowardly Lion, she saw there was only one way left to destroy Dorothy and her friends.

The Golden Cap is my first illustration. I actually used the one in the original 1900 illustration by artist WW Denslow as my model. I printed it on gold paper and added real diamonds and rubies in the form of stick-on jewels. If you watch the 1939 film in the scene where Dorothy is blubbing her eyes out in the witch’s castle waiting for the men to save her (which I hate because it is the antithesis to the Dorothy of the book) you can see what looks like the golden cap as a background prop.  

So the Wicked Witch took the Golden Cap from her cupboard and placed it upon her head. Then she stood upon her left foot and said slowly:

"Ep-pe, pep-pe, kak-ke!"

Next she stood upon her right foot and said:

"Hil-lo, hol-lo, hel-lo!"

After this she stood upon both feet and cried in a loud voice:

"Ziz-zy, zuz-zy, zik!"

This is my second illustration. I always loved the word play of Baum’s magic words and this is no exception.

Now the charm began to work. The sky was darkened, and a low rumbling sound was heard in the air. There was a rushing of many wings, a great chattering and laughing, and the sun came out of the dark sky to show the Wicked Witch surrounded by a crowd of monkeys, each with a pair of immense and powerful wings on his shoulders.

One, much bigger than the others, seemed to be their leader. He flew close to the Witch and said, "You have called us for the third and last time. What do you command?"

"Go to the strangers who are within my land and destroy them all except the Lion," said the Wicked Witch. "Bring that beast to me, for I have a mind to harness him like a horse, and make him work."

"Your commands shall be obeyed," said the leader. Then, with a great deal of chattering and noise, the Winged Monkeys flew away to the place where Dorothy and her friends were walking.

Here they are side by side.

I always found it interesting that the Winged Monkeys were not evil they were just obeying orders. We will learn more of their backstory in about 5 pages. Stay tuned for the fate of our four friends.