A curious thing about Ugu the Shoemaker was that he didn't suspect inthe least that he was wicked. He wanted to be powerful and great, andhe hoped to make himself master of all the Land of Oz that he mightcompel everyone in that fairy country to obey him, His ambitionblinded him to the rights of others, and he imagined anyone else wouldact just as he did if anyone else happened to be as clever as himself.

When he inhabited his little shoemaking shop in the City of Herku, hehad been discontented, for a shoemaker is not looked upon with highrespect, and Ugu knew that his ancestors had been famous magicians formany centuries past and therefore his family was above the ordinary.Even his father practiced magic when Ugu was a boy, but his father hadwandered away from Herku and had never come back again. So when Ugugrew up, he was forced to make shoes for a living, knowing nothing ofthe magic of his forefathers. But one day, in searching through the attic of his house, he discovered all the books of magical recipes and many magical instruments which had formerly been in use in his family.From that day, he stopped making shoes and began to study magic.Finally, he aspired to become the greatest magician in Oz, and fordays and weeks and months he thought on a plan to render all the othersorcerers and wizards, as well as those with fairy powers, helpless tooppose him.

From the books of his ancestors, he learned the following facts:

(1) That Ozma of Oz was the fairy ruler of the Emerald City and theLand of Oz and that she could not be destroyed by any magic everdevised. Also, by means of her Magic Picture she would be able todiscover anyone who approached her royal palace with the idea ofconquering it.

(2) That Glinda the Good was the most powerful Sorceress in Oz, among her other magicalpossessions being the Great Book of Records, whichtold her all that happened anywhere in the world. This Book ofRecords was very dangerous to Ugu's plans, and Glinda was in theservice of Ozma and would use her arts of sorcery to protect the girlRuler.

(3) That the Wizard of Oz, who lived in Ozma's palace, had been taughtmuch powerful magic by Glinda and had a bag of magic tools with whichhe might be able to conquer the Shoemaker.

(4) That there existed in Oz--in the Yip Country--a jeweled dishpanmade of gold, which dishpan would grow large enough for a man to sitinside it. Then, when he grasped both the golden handles, the dishpanwould transport him in an instant to any place he wished to go withinthe borders of the Land of Oz.

No one now living except Ugu knew of the powers of the Magic Dishpan,so after long study, the shoemaker decided that if he could manage tosecure the dishpan, he could by its means rob Ozma and Glinda and theWizard of Oz of all their magic, thus becoming himself the mostpowerful person in all the land. His first act was to go away fromthe City of Herku and build for himself the Wicker Castle in thehills. Here he carried his books and instruments of magic, and herefor a full year he diligently practiced all the magical arts learnedfrom his ancestors. At the end of that time, he could do a good manywonderful things.

Then, when all his preparations were made, he set out for the YipCountry, and climbing the steep mountain at night he entered the houseof Cayke the Cookie Cook and stole her diamond-studded gold dishpanwhile all the Yips were asleep, Taking his prize outside, he set thepan upon the ground and uttered the required magic word. Instantly,the dishpan grew as large as a big washtub, and Ugu seated himself init and grasped the two handles. Then he wished himself in the greatdrawing room of Glinda the Good.

He was there in a flash. First he took the Great Book of Records andput it in the dishpan. Then he went to Glinda's laboratory and tookall her rare chemical compounds and her instruments of sorcery,placing these also in the dishpan, which he caused to grow largeenough to hold them. Next he seated himself amongst the treasures hehad stolen and wished himself in the room in Ozma's palace which theWizard occupied and where he kept his bag of magic tools. This bagUgu added to his plunder and then wished himself in the apartments ofOzma.

Here he first took the Magic Picture from the wall and then seized allthe other magical things which Ozma possessed. Having placed these inthe dishpan, he was about to climb in himself when he looked up andsaw Ozma standing beside him. Her fairy instinct had warned her thatdanger was threatening her, so the beautiful girl Ruler rose from hercouch and leaving her bedchamber at once confronted the thief.

Ugu had to think quickly, for he realized that if he permitted Ozma torouse the inmates of her palace, all his plans and his presentsuccesses were likely to come to naught. So he threw a scarf over thegirl's head so she could not scream, and pushed her into the dishpanand tied her fast so she could not move. Then he climbed in besideher and wished himself in his own wicker castle. The Magic Dishpanwas there in an instant, with all its contents, and Ugu rubbed hishands together in triumphant joy as he realized that he now possessedall the important magic in the Land of Oz and could force all theinhabitants of that fairyland to do as he willed.

So quickly had his journey been accomplished that before daylight therobber magician had locked Ozma in a room, making her a prisoner, andhad unpacked and arranged all his stolen goods. The next day heplaced the Book of Records on his table and hung the Magic Picture onhis wall and put away in his cupboards and drawers all the elixirs andmagic compounds he had stolen. The magical instruments he polishedand arranged, and this was fascinating work and made him very happy.

By turns the imprisoned Ruler wept and scolded the Shoemaker, haughtily threatening him with dire punishment for the wicked deeds he had done. Ugu became somewhat afraid of his fairy prisoner, in spite of the fact that he believed he had robbed her of all her powers; so he performed an enchantment that quickly disposed of her and placed her out of his sight and hearing. After that, being occupied with other things, he soon forgot her.

But now, when he looked into the Magic Picture and read the Great Bookof Records, the Shoemaker learned that his wickedness was not to gounchallenged. Two important expeditions had set out to find him andforce him to give up his stolen property. One was the party headed bythe Wizard and Dorothy, while the other consisted of Cayke and theFrogman. Others were also searching, but not in the right places.These two groups, however, were headed straight for the wicker castle,and so Ugu began to plan how best to meet them and to defeat theirefforts to conquer him.