In 1900, the greatest American storyteller and one of the founders of the fantasy genre, Lyman Frank Baum, published the fairy tale book “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” which became a world bestseller. Thus began the story of the Magical Land of Oz, which continues to this day. Baum, who took the position of “Court Historian of the Land of Oz,” managed to tell us fourteen wonderful stories about adventures in this amazing country. From 1921 to 1939, this honor passed to the remarkable American children's writer Ruth Plumley Thompson, who added nineteen more works to the Great Canon of the Oz Chronicles. Seven of them were translated into Russian and published in 2001-2003 on the initiative and under the editorship of Evgeniy Vladimirovich Vitkovsky. The Cowardly Lion from the Country of OzPublishing house: "Eksmo", Russia, Moscow, 2003, ISBN 5-699-04106-0. Table of Contents Chapter 1. Mustafa of Majistan Chapter 2. Magic in the Circus Chapter 3. At the Majistan Court Chapter 4. Mustafa's Instruction Chapter 5. In Search of the Cowardly Lion Chapter 6. Seven Doors Chapter 7. Escape from Door County Chapter 8. The Cowardly Lion Goes on a Campaign Chapter 9. In Search of the Brave Chapter 10. The Island of Not Chapter 11. Extraordinary Fishing Chapter 12. Escape on a Goose Plane Chapter 13. Mustafa's Magic Ring Chapter 14. Thunderstorm and Storm Chapter 15. Meanwhile...Chapter 16 ConservatoryChapter 17. The Stone ManChapter 18. Vottak's Last DressingChapter 19. In the Emerald CityChapter 20. The Cowardly Lion is on the brink of deathChapter 21. Oz winsChapter 22. New inhabitants of the countries of Oz The story begins with Mustafa of Majistan, the monarch with the blue beard in desert turban that gathers lions. Mustafa demands another lion - he already has nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine and a half lions - but there are no more lions in Majistan. Princess Ozma, by her order, forbade the Majs - the inhabitants of Majistan - to cross the border of their hot desert country on pain of death. However, when Vottak, a circus clown in Toptown (a small American town) and a serious orphan boy named Bobby accidentally end up in Majistan with the help of magic, Mustafa has a chance to get the famous Cowardly Lion - the ten thousandth lion of Majistan - into his collection. Using a magic ring, he charms Wattak and Bob and forces them to go in search of the Cowardly Lion. Meanwhile, in the Emerald City, the Cowardly Lion believes that he has already exhausted the reserve of courage invested in him by the Wizard (see the book "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz"). The lion decides that he can replenish his courage by eating a courageous man. Since the Cowardly Lion does not want to harm anyone, he decides to finish the job as quickly as possible and sets out on a journey to find and eat the bravest man in the Land of Oz. So it turns out that the Cowardly Lion begins to hunt Whattuck and Bob. Quite by chance, all three meet each other. Having hidden their goal from Lev, Vottak and Bob decide to deceive him and take him to Majistan. The three adventurers fall into a trap and unexpectedly find themselves on the unfortunate Vostrov Ne, which floats in the sky. Feathered like birds, but with a human head, the people of Vostrov do not utter only negative words: unfriendly, unkind, ungrateful and so on. The travelers meet a wonderful bird named Snore, who tells them that if they stay on Vostrov Ne, they will grow feathers and become bird-like creatures. Together they escape from Vostrov Not in a gooseneck - an aircraft equipped with spinning feathered wheels. The Cowardly Lion, That's It and Bob become fast friends and tell each other their secret plans. The Cowardly Lion abandons his former plot to eat the brave man and, separated from the travelers, goes to Majistan to calm Mustafa and prevent him from using the magic ring against Vottak and Bob. So Bob, in turn, goes to the Emerald City to turn to Ozma for help. The Cowardly Lion meets on the way stone giant who joins him. Together they end up in Majistan, where the giant turns the Cowardly Lion into a stone statue, in company with other lions. However, Wow, Bobo, Ozma and the Wizard of Oz arrive and bring everything back. Ozma takes the magic ring from Mustafa and order is restored. Source: