noon
One way led to the left and the other to the right -- straight up the mountain . Unc Nunkie took this right-hand path and Ojo followed without asking why . He knew it would take them to the house of the Crooked Magician , whom he had never seen but who was their nearest neighbor . All the morning they trudged up the mountain path and at noon Unc and Ojo sat on a fallen tree-trunk and ate the last of the bread which the old Munchkin had placed in his pocket . Then they started on again and two hours later came in sight of the house of Dr. Pipt . It was a big house , round , as were all the Munchkin houses , and painted blue , which is the distinctive color of the Munchkin Country of Oz . There was a pretty garden around the house , where blue trees and blue flowers grew in abundance and in one place were beds of blue cabbages , blue carrots and blue lettuce , all of which were delicious to eat .