The Road to Oz · Chapter
King Dox explained
Dorothy, the Shaggy Man, and Button-Bright (now with a fox head) are guests of King Dox in Foxville.
What happens
Dorothy, the Shaggy Man, and Button-Bright (now with a fox head) are guests of King Dox in Foxville. They enjoy a feast, attend a play, and are treated with respect, though Button-Bright is distressed by his transformation. The King asks Dorothy to secure him an invitation to Ozma's birthday celebration. The travelers depart the next morning, wary of the 'big, stupid beasts' ahead.
Themes in this chapter
Hospitality and Generosity
King Dox and the foxes provide a feast, theater, and comfortable lodging for the travelers.
Identity and Transformation
Button-Bright struggles with his fox head, and the Shaggy Man insists on keeping his shaggy appearance to maintain his identity.
Characters to notice
- Dorothy
Guests of King Dox; promises to ask Ozma to invite the King to the birthday celebration.
- Button-Bright
Still transformed with a fox head; comforted by Dorothy and praised by fox princesses.
- Shaggy Man
Refuses to change his shaggy clothes; uneasy about the journey ahead.
- King Dox
Hosts the travelers; asks Dorothy for an invitation to Ozma's celebration; criticizes Aesop.
Key passages
““Don’t mention Aesop to me, I beg of you!” exclaimed King Dox. “I hate that man’s name. He wrote a good deal about foxes, but always made them out cruel and wicked, whereas we are gentle and kind, as you may see.””
King Dox dislikes Aesop because his fables portray foxes as cruel, while the King insists foxes are gentle and kind.
Highlights the theme of identity and the fox king's pride in his people's nature.
““If we can manage to get to Ozma,” she said, “the Princess will change you back to yourself in half a second; so you just wear that fox head as comf’t’bly as you can, dear, and don’t worry about it at all.””
Dorothy reassures Button-Bright that Ozma can quickly restore his original head, so he should be patient.
Shows Dorothy's care for Button-Bright and her faith in Ozma's magic.