"The Cowardly Lion of Oz" by Ruth Plumly Thompson is a fantasy novel published in 1923. When a turbaned desert monarch demands the famous Cowardly Lion as his ten-thousandth specimen, an enchanted clown and orphan boy are compelled to capture him. Meanwhile, the Lion believes his courage has run out and embarks on a desperate quest of his own. Their paths collide in an adventure involving a sky-floating island of negative bird-people, flying machines, and stone giants across the magical land of Oz. (This is an automatically generated summary.)