Betsy Bobbin

Here we have Betsy Bobbin and her friend Hank the Mule struggling through the ocean after falling off a ship during a storm at sea. If this sounds familiar, it's because the same thing happened to Dorothy and Billina the Hen at the beginning of Ozma of Oz. In fact, Tik-Tok of Oz is basically a reworking of Ozma, with many plot similarities. L. Frank Baum was never one to let a good story idea die.

John R. Neill's drawing captures the drama and excitement of the moment. This drawing was used for the heading of Chapter 4, page 39. I have another little drawing of Hank the Mule from page 119. He doesn't appear much happier here than he does in the sea! This drawing also has some printers notes, as well as a crop mark at the bottom of the image - Hank's neck was shortened slightly for printing purposes.