Then she arranged his supper, which proved
the most varied and delicious meal Ojo had ever
eaten in his life.
Tollydiggle sat near him while he ate, sewing
on some fancy work she held in her lap. When
he had finished she cleared the table and then
read to him a story from one of the books.
"Is this really a prison?" he asked, when she
had finished reading.
"Indeed it is," she replied. "It is the only
prison in the Land of Oz."
"And am I a prisoner?"
"Bless the child! Of course."
"Then why is the prison so fine, and why
are you so kind to me?" he earnestly asked.
Tollydiggle seemed surprised by the question,
but she presently answered:
"We consider a prisoner unfortunate. He is
unfortunate in two ways--because he has done
something wrong and because he is deprived of his
liberty. Therefore we should treat him kindly,
because of his misfortune, for otherwise he would
become hard and bitter and would not be sorry he
had done wrong. Ozma thinks that one who has
committed a fault did so because he was not strong
and brave; therefore she puts him in prison to
make him strong and brave. When that is
accomplished he is no longer a prisoner, but a
good and loyal citizen and everyone is glad that
he is now strong enough to resist doing wrong.
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