Chapter 21: The Tin-Woodman Plucks a Rose

Glinda's army appears to be trained very well.　It has well-kept weapons and responds swiftly.　The number of soldiers wasn't mentioned, but there seemed to be quite many. They even had a marching band! It was quite different from the army of the Emerald City.

Glinda rode in a palanquin this time, not her favorite swan chariot.　　The palanquin didn't have wheels and was carried by twelve servants.　It must have been so bumpy that Glinda would have become ill with all the movement.　Could that be why she didn't attack the Emerald City when the Wizard of Oz ruled?　

The Gump with the Scarecrow and his friends flew along above her palanquin.　Don't you have an unpleasant feeling when something follows you above your head?　The Scarecrow's party seemed not to care at all, though.　Don't you think that Glinda might have felt it was annoying? Then, perhaps when she saw the Gump flying so smoothly across the sky, she cried out, "That's it!" and got the inspiration for the swan chariot.

I feel sorry that Jellia Jamb was forced to pretend to be Mombi and was threatened with death if she said what was going on behind her. The rule that nobody dies in Oz didn't apply here again.

I admire how shrewd Mombi was. She was old and experienced. Even Glinda couldn't find her.

I didn't know the Tin Woodman had a buttonhole on his body. What a fine job! Look at the Ku-Klip's craftsmanship! I'm just worried that it's hard to rub and starts to rust easily.

The Tin Woodman, who loves flowers, doesn't hesitate to cut one. I don't understand his philosophy yet.

As you remember, white is the color for a witch. In this chapter you can once again see the rule that Glinda's army's tents were red but Glinda's was white. However, the white flag which was used when Jinjur sent a messenger to Glinda didn't have the same meaning as the witch's color, of course. Raising a white flag to signify non-combat seems to be well-known in Oz too.

According to my further research, I found an article stating that a person who carries a white flag is recognized as an authorized non-combat messenger as established in the Laws and Customs of War on Land in 1899.