The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Published：2026-07-31 11:02:39 Source: sewing kits for easter basket Author: Card Games

The benefits of wooden montessori toysWonderful Wizard of Oz

by L. Frank Baum

This book is dedicated to my good friend & comrade
My Wife
L.F.B.

Contents

Introduction

Folklore, legends, myths and fairy tales have followed childhood through theages, for every healthy youngster has a wholesome and instinctive love forstories fantastic, marvelous and manifestly unreal. The winged fairies of Grimmand Andersen have brought more happiness to childish hearts than all otherhuman creations.

Yet the old time fairy tale, having served for generations, may now be classedas “historical” in the children’s library; for the time hascome for a series of newer “wonder tales” in which the stereotypedgenie, dwarf and fairy are eliminated, together with all the horrible andblood-curdling incidents devised by their authors to point a fearsome moral toeach tale. Modern education includes morality; therefore the modern child seeksonly entertainment in its wonder tales and gladly dispenses with alldisagreeable incident.

Having this thought in mind, the story of “The Wonderful Wizard ofOz” was written solely to please children of today. It aspires to being amodernized fairy tale, in which the wonderment and joy are retained and theheartaches and nightmares are left out.

L. Frank Baum
Chicago, April, 1900.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Chapter I
The Cyclone

Dorothy lived in the midst of the great Kansas prairies, with Uncle Henry, whowas a farmer, and Aunt Em, who was the farmer’s wife. Their house wassmall, for the lumber to build it had to be carried by wagon many miles. Therewere four walls, a floor and a roof, which made one room; and this roomcontained a rusty looking cookstove, a cupboard for the dishes, a table, threeor four chairs, and the beds. Uncle Henry and Aunt Em had a big bed in onecorner, and Dorothy a little bed in another corner. There was no garret at all,and no cellar—except a small hole dug in the ground, called a cyclonecellar, where the family could go in case one of those great whirlwinds arose,mighty enough to crush any building in its path. It was reached by a trap doorin the middle of the floor, from which a ladder led down into the small, darkhole.

When Dorothy stood in the doorway and looked around, she could see nothing butthe great gray prairie on every side. Not a tree nor a house broke the broadsweep of flat country that reached to the edge of the sky in all directions.The sun had baked the plowed land into a gray mass, with little cracks runningthrough it. Even the grass was not green, for the sun had burned the tops ofthe long blades until they were the same gray color to be seen everywhere. Oncethe house had been painted, but the sun blistered the paint and the rainswashed it away, and now the house was as dull and gray as everything else.

When Aunt Em came there to live she was a young, pretty wife. The sun and windhad changed her, too. They had taken the sparkle from her eyes and left them asober gray; they had taken the red from her cheeks and lips, and they were grayalso. She was thin and gaunt, and never smiled now. When Dorothy, who was anorphan, first came to her, Aunt Em had been so startled by the child’slaughter that she would scream and press her hand upon her heart wheneverDorothy’s merry voice reached her ears; and she still looked at thelittle girl with wonder that she could find anything to laugh at.

Uncle Henry never laughed. He worked hard from morning till night and did notknow what joy was. He was gray also, from his long beard to his rough boots,and he looked stern and solemn, and rarely spoke.

It was Toto that made Dorothy laugh, and saved her from growing as gray as herother surroundings. Toto was not gray; he was a little black dog, with longsilky hair and small black eyes that twinkled merrily on either side of hisfunny, wee nose. Toto played all day long, and Dorothy played with him, andloved him dearly.

Today, however, they were not playing. Uncle Henry sat upon the doorstep andlooked anxiously at the sky, which was even grayer than usual. Dorothy stood inthe door with Toto in her arms, and looked at the sky too. Aunt Em was washingthe dishes.

From the far north they heard a low wail of the wind, and Uncle Henry andDorothy could see where the long grass bowed in waves before the coming storm.There now came a sharp whistling in the air from the south, and as they turnedtheir eyes that way they saw ripples in the grass coming from that directionalso.

Suddenly Uncle Henry stood up.

“There’s a cyclone coming, Em,” he called to his wife.“I’ll go look after the stock.” Then he ran toward the shedswhere the cows and horses were kept.

Aunt Em dropped her work and came to the door. One glance told her of thedanger close at hand.

“Quick, Dorothy!” she screamed. “Run for the cellar!”

Toto jumped out of Dorothy’s arms and hid under the bed, and the girlstarted to get him. Aunt Em, badly frightened, threw open the trap door in thefloor and climbed down the ladder into the small, dark hole. Dorothy caughtToto at last and started to follow her aunt. When she was halfway across theroom there came a great shriek from the wind, and the house shook so hard thatshe lost her footing and sat down suddenly upon the floor.

Then a strange thing happened.

The house whirled around two or three times and rose slowly through the air.Dorothy felt as if she were going up in a balloon.

The north and south winds met where the house stood, and made it the exactcenter of the cyclone. In the middle of a cyclone the air is generally still,but the great pressure of the wind on every side of the house raised it uphigher and higher, until it was at the very top of the cyclone; and there itremained and was carried miles and miles away as easily as you could carry afeather.

It was very dark, and the wind howled horribly around her, but Dorothy foundshe was riding quite easily. After the first few whirls around, and one othertime when the house tipped badly, she felt as if she were being rocked gently,like a baby in a cradle.

Toto did not like it. He ran about the room, now here, now there, barkingloudly; but Dorothy sat quite still on the floor and waited to see what wouldhappen.

Once Toto got too near the open trap door, and fell in; and at first the littlegirl thought she had lost him. But soon she saw one of his ears sticking upthrough the hole, for the strong pressure of the air was keeping him up so thathe could not fall. She crept to the hole, caught Toto by the ear, and draggedhim into the room again, afterward closing the trap door so that no moreaccidents could happen.

Hour after hour passed away, and slowly Dorothy got over her fright; but shefelt quite lonely, and the wind shrieked so loudly all about her that shenearly became deaf. At first she had wondered if she would be dashed to pieceswhen the house fell again; but as the hours passed and nothing terriblehappened, she stopped worrying and resolved to wait calmly and see what thefuture would bring. At last she crawled over the swaying floor to her bed, andlay down upon it; and Toto followed and lay down beside her.

In spite of the swaying of the house and the wailing of the wind, Dorothy soonclosed her eyes and fell fast asleep.

Chapter II
The Council with the Munchkins

She was awakened by a shock, so sudden and severe that if Dorothy had not beenlying on the soft bed she might have been hurt. As it was, the jar made hercatch her breath and wonder what had happened; and Toto put his cold littlenose into her face and whined dismally. Dorothy sat up and noticed that thehouse was not moving; nor was it dark, for the bright sunshine came in at thewindow, flooding the little room. She sprang from her bed and with Toto at herheels ran and opened the door.

The little girl gave a cry of amazement and looked about her, her eyes growingbigger and bigger at the wonderful sights she saw.

The cyclone had set the house down very gently—for a cyclone—in themidst of a country of marvelous beauty. There were lovely patches of greenswardall about, with stately trees bearing rich and luscious fruits. Banks ofgorgeous flowers were on every hand, and birds with rare and brilliant plumagesang and fluttered in the trees and bushes. A little way off was a small brook,rushing and sparkling along between green banks, and murmuring in a voice verygrateful to a little girl who had lived so long on the dry, gray prairies.

While she stood looking eagerly at the strange and beautiful sights, shenoticed coming toward her a group of the queerest people she had ever seen.They were not as big as the grown folk she had always been used to; but neitherwere they very small. In fact, they seemed about as tall as Dorothy, who was awell-grown child for her age, although they were, so far as looks go, manyyears older.

Three were men and one a woman, and all were oddly dressed. They wore roundhats that rose to a small point a foot above their heads, with little bellsaround the brims that tinkled sweetly as they moved. The hats of the men wereblue; the little woman’s hat was white, and she wore a white gown thathung in pleats from her shoulders. Over it were sprinkled little stars thatglistened in the sun like diamonds. The men were dressed in blue, of the sameshade as their hats, and wore well-polished boots with a deep roll of blue atthe tops. The men, Dorothy thought, were about as old as Uncle Henry, for twoof them had beards. But the little woman was doubtless much older. Her face wascovered with wrinkles, her hair was nearly white, and she walked ratherstiffly.

When these people drew near the house where Dorothy was standing in thedoorway, they paused and whispered among themselves, as if afraid to comefarther. But the little old woman walked up to Dorothy, made a low bow andsaid, in a sweet voice:

“You are welcome, most noble Sorceress, to the land of the Munchkins. Weare so grateful to you for having killed the Wicked Witch of the East, and forsetting our people free from bondage.”

Dorothy listened to this speech with wonder. What could the little womanpossibly mean by calling her a sorceress, and saying she had killed the WickedWitch of the East? Dorothy was an innocent, harmless little girl, who had beencarried by a cyclone many miles from home; and she had never killed anything inall her life.

But the little woman evidently expected her to answer; so Dorothy said, withhesitation, “You are very kind, but there must be some mistake. I havenot killed anything.”

“Your house did, anyway,” replied the little old woman, with alaugh, “and that is the same thing. See!” she continued, pointingto the corner of the house. “There are her two feet, still sticking outfrom under a block of wood.”

Dorothy looked, and gave a little cry of fright. There, indeed, just under thecorner of the great beam the house rested on, two feet were sticking out, shodin silver shoes with pointed toes.

“Oh, dear! Oh, dear!” cried Dorothy, clasping her hands together indismay. “The house must have fallen on her. Whatever shall we do?”

“There is nothing to be done,” said the little woman calmly.

“But who was she?” asked Dorothy.

“She was the Wicked Witch of the East, as I said,” answered thelittle woman. “She has held all the Munchkins in bondage for many years,making them slave for her night and day. Now they are all set free, and aregrateful to you for the favor.”

“Who are the Munchkins?” inquired Dorothy.

“They are the people who live in this land of the East where the WickedWitch ruled.”

“Are you a Munchkin?” asked Dorothy.

“No, but I am their friend, although I live in the land of the North.When they saw the Witch of the East was dead the Munchkins sent a swiftmessenger to me, and I came at once. I am the Witch of the North.”

“Oh, gracious!” cried Dorothy. “Are you a real witch?”

“Yes, indeed,” answered the little woman. “But I am a goodwitch, and the people love me. I am not as powerful as the Wicked Witch was whoruled here, or I should have set the people free myself.”

“But I thought all witches were wicked,” said the girl, who washalf frightened at facing a real witch.

“Oh, no, that is a great mistake.There were only four witches in all the Land of Oz, and two of them, those wholive in the North and the South, are good witches. I know this is true, for Iam one of them myself, and cannot be mistaken. Those who dwelt in the East andthe West were, indeed, wicked witches; but now that you have killed one ofthem, there is but one Wicked Witch in all the Land of Oz—the one wholives in the West.”

“But,” said Dorothy, after a moment’s thought, “Aunt Emhas told me that the witches were all dead—years and years ago.”

“Who is Aunt Em?” inquired the little old woman.

“She is my aunt who lives in Kansas, where I came from.”

The Witch of the North seemed to think for a time, with her head bowed and hereyes upon the ground. Then she looked up and said, “I do not know whereKansas is, for I have never heard that country mentioned before. But tell me,is it a civilized country?”

“Oh, yes,” replied Dorothy.

“Then that accounts for it. In the civilized countries I believe thereare no witches left, nor wizards, nor sorceresses, nor magicians. But, you see,the Land of Oz has never been civilized, for we are cut off from all the restof the world. Therefore we still have witches and wizards amongst us.”

“Who are the wizards?” asked Dorothy.

“Oz himself is the Great Wizard,” answered the Witch, sinking hervoice to a whisper. “He is more powerful than all the rest of ustogether. He lives in the City of Emeralds.”

Dorothy was going to ask another question, but just then the Munchkins, who hadbeen standing silently by, gave a loud shout and pointed to the corner of thehouse where the Wicked Witch had been lying.

“What is it?” asked the little old woman, and looked, and began tolaugh. The feet of the dead Witch had disappeared entirely, and nothing wasleft but the silver shoes.

“She was so old,” explained the Witch of the North, “that shedried up quickly in the sun. That is the end of her. But the silver shoes areyours, and you shall have them to wear.” She reached down and picked upthe shoes, and after shaking the dust out of them handed them to Dorothy.

“The Witch of the East was proud of those silver shoes,” said oneof the Munchkins, “and there is some charm connected with them; but whatit is we never knew.”

Dorothy carried the shoes into the house and placed them on the table. Then shecame out again to the Munchkins and said:

“I am anxious to get back to my aunt and uncle, for I am sure they willworry about me. Can you help me find my way?”

The Munchkins and the Witch first looked at one another, and then at Dorothy,and then shook their heads.

“At the East, not far from here,” said one, “there is a greatdesert, and none could live to cross it.”

“It is the same at the South,” said another, “for I have beenthere and seen it. The South is the country of the Quadlings.”

“I am told,” said the third man, “that it is the same at theWest. And that country, where the Winkies live, is ruled by the Wicked Witch ofthe West, who would make you her slave if you passed her way.”

“The North is my home,” said the old lady, “and at its edgeis the same great desert that surrounds this Land of Oz. I’m afraid, mydear, you will have to live with us.”

Dorothy began to sob at this, for she felt lonely among all these strangepeople. Her tears seemed to grieve the kind-hearted Munchkins, for theyimmediately took out their handkerchiefs and began to weep also. As for thelittle old woman, she took off her cap and balanced the point on the end of hernose, while she counted “One, two, three” in a solemn voice. Atonce the cap changed to a slate, on which was written in big, white chalkmarks:

“LET DOROTHY GO TO THE CITY OF EMERALDS”

The little old woman took the slate from her nose, and having read the words onit, asked, “Is your name Dorothy, my dear?”

“Yes,” answered the child, looking up and drying her tears.

“Then you must go to the City of Emeralds. Perhaps Oz will helpyou.”

“Where is this city?” asked Dorothy.

“It is exactly in the center of the country, and is ruled by Oz, theGreat Wizard I told you of.”

“Is he a good man?” inquired the girl anxiously.

“He is a good Wizard. Whether he is a man or not I cannot tell, for Ihave never seen him.”

“How can I get there?” asked Dorothy.

“You must walk. It is a long journey, through a country that is sometimespleasant and sometimes dark and terrible. However, I will use all the magicarts I know of to keep you from harm.”

“Won’t you go with me?” pleaded the girl, who had begun tolook upon the little old woman as her only friend.

“No, I cannot do that,” she replied, “but I will give you mykiss, and no one will dare injure a person who has been kissed by the Witch ofthe North.”

She came close to Dorothy and kissed her gently on the forehead. Where her lipstouched the girl they left a round, shining mark, as Dorothy found out soonafter.

“The road to the City of Emeralds is paved with yellow brick,” saidthe Witch, “so you cannot miss it. When you get to Oz do not be afraid ofhim, but tell your story and ask him to help you. Good-bye, my dear.”

The three Munchkins bowed low to her and wished her a pleasant journey, afterwhich they walked away through the trees. The Witch gave Dorothy a friendlylittle nod, whirled around on her left heel three times, and straightwaydisappeared, much to the surprise of little Toto, who barked after her loudlyenough when she had gone, because he had been afraid even to growl while shestood by.

But Dorothy, knowing her to be a witch, had expected her to disappear in justthat way, and was not surprised in the least.

Chapter III
How Dorothy Saved the Scarecrow

When Dorothy was left alone she began to feel hungry. So she went to thecupboard and cut herself some bread, which she spread with butter. She gavesome to Toto, and taking a pail from the shelf she carried it down to thelittle brook and filled it with clear, sparkling water. Toto ran over to thetrees and began to bark at the birds sitting there. Dorothy went to get him,and saw such delicious fruit hanging from the branches that she gathered someof it, finding it just what she wanted to help out her breakfast.

Then she went back to the house, and having helped herself and Toto to a gooddrink of the cool, clear water, she set about making ready for the journey tothe City of Emeralds.

Dorothy had only one other dress, but that happened to be clean and was hangingon a peg beside her bed. It was gingham, with checks of white and blue; andalthough the blue was somewhat faded with many washings, it was still a prettyfrock. The girl washed herself carefully, dressed herself in the clean gingham,and tied her pink sunbonnet on her head. She took a little basket and filled itwith bread from the cupboard, laying a white cloth over the top. Then shelooked down at her feet and noticed how old and worn her shoes were.

“They surely will never do for a long journey, Toto,” she said. AndToto looked up into her face with his little black eyes and wagged his tail toshow he knew what she meant.

At that moment Dorothy saw lying on the table the silver shoes that hadbelonged to the Witch of the East.

“I wonder if they will fit me,” she said to Toto. “They wouldbe just the thing to take a long walk in, for they could not wear out.”

She took off her old leather shoes and tried on the silver ones, which fittedher as well as if they had been made for her.

Finally she picked up her basket.

“Come along, Toto,” she said. “We will go to the Emerald Cityand ask the Great Oz how to get back to Kansas again.”

She closed the door, locked it, and put the key carefully in the pocket of herdress. And so, with Toto trotting along soberly behind her, she started on herjourney.

There were several roads nearby, but it did not take her long to find the onepaved with yellow bricks. Within a short time she was walking briskly towardthe Emerald City, her silver shoes tinkling merrily on the hard, yellowroad-bed. The sun shone bright and the birds sang sweetly, and Dorothy did notfeel nearly so bad as you might think a little girl would who had been suddenlywhisked away from her own country and set down in the midst of a strange land.

She was surprised, as she walked along, to see how pretty the country was abouther. There were neat fences at the sides of the road, painted a dainty bluecolor, and beyond them were fields of grain and vegetables in abundance.Evidently the Munchkins were good farmers and able to raise large crops. Oncein a while she would pass a house, and the people came out to look at her andbow low as she went by; for everyone knew she had been the means of destroyingthe Wicked Witch and setting them free from bondage. The houses of theMunchkins were odd-looking dwellings, for each was round, with a big dome for aroof. All were painted blue, for in this country of the East blue was thefavorite color.

Toward evening, when Dorothy was tired with her long walk and began to wonderwhere she should pass the night, she came to a house rather larger than therest. On the green lawn before it many men and women were dancing. Five littlefiddlers played as loudly as possible, and the people were laughing andsinging, while a big table near by was loaded with delicious fruits and nuts,pies and cakes, and many other good things to eat.

The people greeted Dorothy kindly, and invited her to supper and to pass thenight with them; for this was the home of one of the richest Munchkins in theland, and his friends were gathered with him to celebrate their freedom fromthe bondage of the Wicked Witch.

Dorothy ate a hearty supper and was waited upon by the rich Munchkin himself,whose name was Boq. Then she sat upon a settee and watched the people dance.

When Boq saw her silver shoes he said, “You must be a greatsorceress.”

“Why?” asked the girl.

“Because you wear silver shoes and have killed the Wicked Witch. Besides,you have white in your frock, and only witches and sorceresses wearwhite.”

“My dress is blue and white checked,” said Dorothy, smoothing outthe wrinkles in it.

“It is kind of you to wear that,” said Boq. “Blue is thecolor of the Munchkins, and white is the witch color. So we know you are afriendly witch.”

Dorothy did not know what to say to this, for all the people seemed to thinkher a witch, and she knew very well she was only an ordinary little girl whohad come by the chance of a cyclone into a strange land.

When she had tired watching the dancing, Boq led her into the house, where hegave her a room with a pretty bed in it. The sheets were made of blue cloth,and Dorothy slept soundly in them till morning, with Toto curled up on the bluerug beside her.

She ate a hearty breakfast, and watched a wee Munchkin baby, who played withToto and pulled his tail and crowed and laughed in a way that greatly amusedDorothy. Toto was a fine curiosity to all the people, for they had never seen adog before.

“How far is it to the Emerald City?” the girl asked.

“I do not know,” answered Boq gravely, “for I have never beenthere. It is better for people to keep away from Oz, unless they have businesswith him. But it is a long way to the Emerald City, and it will take you manydays. The country here is rich and pleasant, but you must pass through roughand dangerous places before you reach the end of your journey.”

This worried Dorothy a little, but she knew that only the Great Oz could helpher get to Kansas again, so she bravely resolved not to turn back.

She bade her friends good-bye, and again started along the road of yellowbrick. When she had gone several miles she thought she would stop to rest, andso climbed to the top of the fence beside the road and sat down. There was agreat cornfield beyond the fence, and not far away she saw a Scarecrow, placedhigh on a pole to keep the birds from the ripe corn.

Dorothy leaned her chin upon her hand and gazed thoughtfully at the Scarecrow.Its head was a small sack stuffed with straw, with eyes, nose, and mouthpainted on it to represent a face. An old, pointed blue hat, that had belongedto some Munchkin, was perched on his head, and the rest of the figure was ablue suit of clothes, worn and faded, which had also been stuffed with straw.On the feet were some old boots with blue tops, such as every man wore in thiscountry, and the figure was raised above the stalks of corn by means of thepole stuck up its back.

While Dorothy was looking earnestly into the queer, painted face of theScarecrow, she was surprised to see one of the eyes slowly wink at her. Shethought she must have been mistaken at first, for none of the scarecrows inKansas ever wink; but presently the figure nodded its head to her in a friendlyway. Then she climbed down from the fence and walked up to it, while Toto ranaround the pole and barked.

“Good day,” said the Scarecrow, in a rather husky voice.

“Did you speak?” asked the girl, in wonder.

“Certainly,” answered the Scarecrow. “How do you do?”

“I’m pretty well, thank you,” replied Dorothy politely.“How do you do?”

“I’m not feeling well,” said the Scarecrow, with a smile,“for it is very tedious being perched up here night and day to scare awaycrows.”

“Can’t you get down?” asked Dorothy.

“No, for this pole is stuck up my back. If you will please take away thepole I shall be greatly obliged to you.”

Dorothy reached up both arms and lifted the figure off the pole, for, beingstuffed with straw, it was quite light.

“Thank you very much,” said the Scarecrow, when he had been setdown on the ground. “I feel like a new man.”

Dorothy was puzzled at this, for it sounded queer to hear a stuffed man speak,and to see him bow and walk along beside her.

“Who are you?” asked the Scarecrow when he had stretched himselfand yawned. “And where are you going?”

“My name is Dorothy,” said the girl, “and I am going to theEmerald City, to ask the Great Oz to send me back to Kansas.”

“Where is the Emerald City?” he inquired. “And who isOz?”

“Why, don’t you know?” she returned, in surprise.

“No, indeed. I don’t know anything. You see, I am stuffed, so Ihave no brains at all,” he answered sadly.

“Oh,” said Dorothy, “I’m awfully sorry for you.”

“Do you think,” he asked, “if I go to the Emerald City withyou, that Oz would give me some brains?”

“I cannot tell,” she returned, “but you may come with me, ifyou like. If Oz will not give you any brains you will be no worse off than youare now.”

“That is true,” said the Scarecrow. “You see,” hecontinued confidentially, “I don’t mind my legs and arms and bodybeing stuffed, because I cannot get hurt. If anyone treads on my toes or sticksa pin into me, it doesn’t matter, for I can’t feel it. But I do notwant people to call me a fool, and if my head stays stuffed with straw insteadof with brains, as yours is, how am I ever to know anything?”

“I understand how you feel,” said the little girl, who was trulysorry for him. “If you will come with me I’ll ask Oz to do all hecan for you.”

“Thank you,” he answered gratefully.

They walked back to the road. Dorothy helped him over the fence, and theystarted along the path of yellow brick for the Emerald City.

Toto did not like this addition to the party at first. He smelled around thestuffed man as if he suspected there might be a nest of rats in the straw, andhe often growled in an unfriendly way at the Scarecrow.

“Don’t mind Toto,” said Dorothy to her new friend. “Henever bites.”

“Oh, I’m not afraid,” replied the Scarecrow. “Hecan’t hurt the straw. Do let me carry that basket for you. I shall notmind it, for I can’t get tired. I’ll tell you a secret,” hecontinued, as he walked along. “There is only one thing in the world I amafraid of.”

“What is that?” asked Dorothy; “the Munchkin farmer who madeyou?”

“No,” answered the Scarecrow; “it’s a lightedmatch.”

Chapter IV
The Road Through the Forest

After a few hours the road began to be rough, and the walking grew so difficultthat the Scarecrow often stumbled over the yellow bricks, which were here veryuneven. Sometimes, indeed, they were broken or missing altogether, leavingholes that Toto jumped across and Dorothy walked around. As for the Scarecrow,having no brains, he walked straight ahead, and so stepped into the holes andfell at full length on the hard bricks. It never hurt him, however, and Dorothywould pick him up and set him upon his feet again, while he joined her inlaughing merrily at his own mishap.

The farms were not nearly so well cared for here as they were farther back.There were fewer houses and fewer fruit trees, and the farther they went themore dismal and lonesome the country became.

At noon they sat down by the roadside, near a little brook, and Dorothy openedher basket and got out some bread. She offered a piece to the Scarecrow, but herefused.

“I am never hungry,” he said, “and it is a lucky thing I amnot, for my mouth is only painted, and if I should cut a hole in it so I couldeat, the straw I am stuffed with would come out, and that would spoil the shapeof my head.”

Dorothy saw at once that this was true, so she only nodded and went on eatingher bread.

“Tell me something about yourself and the country you came from,”said the Scarecrow, when she had finished her dinner. So she told him all aboutKansas, and how gray everything was there, and how the cyclone had carried herto this queer Land of Oz.

The Scarecrow listened carefully, and said, “I cannot understand why youshould wish to leave this beautiful country and go back to the dry, gray placeyou call Kansas.”

“That is because you have no brains” answered the girl. “Nomatter how dreary and gray our homes are, we people of flesh and blood wouldrather live there than in any other country, be it ever so beautiful. There isno place like home.”

The Scarecrow sighed.

“Of course I cannot understand it,” he said. “If your headswere stuffed with straw, like mine, you would probably all live in thebeautiful places, and then Kansas would have no people at all. It is fortunatefor Kansas that you have brains.”

“Won’t you tell me a story, while we are resting?” asked thechild.

The Scarecrow looked at her reproachfully, and answered:

“My life has been so short that I really know nothing whatever. I wasonly made day before yesterday. What happened in the world before that time isall unknown to me. Luckily, when the farmer made my head, one of the firstthings he did was to paint my ears, so that I heard what was going on. Therewas another Munchkin with him, and the first thing I heard was the farmersaying, ‘How do you like those ears?’

“‘They aren’t straight,’” answered the other.

“‘Never mind,’” said the farmer. “‘They areears just the same,’” which was true enough.

“‘Now I’ll make the eyes,’” said the farmer. Sohe painted my right eye, and as soon as it was finished I found myself lookingat him and at everything around me with a great deal of curiosity, for this wasmy first glimpse of the world.

“‘That’s a rather pretty eye,’” remarked theMunchkin who was watching the farmer. “‘Blue paint is just thecolor for eyes.’

“‘I think I’ll make the other a little bigger,’”said the farmer. And when the second eye was done I could see much better thanbefore. Then he made my nose and my mouth. But I did not speak, because at thattime I didn’t know what a mouth was for. I had the fun of watching themmake my body and my arms and legs; and when they fastened on my head, at last,I felt very proud, for I thought I was just as good a man as anyone.

“‘This fellow will scare the crows fast enough,’ said thefarmer. ‘He looks just like a man.’

“‘Why, he is a man,’ said the other, and I quite agreed withhim. The farmer carried me under his arm to the cornfield, and set me up on atall stick, where you found me. He and his friend soon after walked away andleft me alone.

“I did not like to be deserted this way. So I tried to walk after them.But my feet would not touch the ground, and I was forced to stay on that pole.It was a lonely life to lead, for I had nothing to think of, having been madesuch a little while before. Many crows and other birds flew into the cornfield,but as soon as they saw me they flew away again, thinking I was a Munchkin; andthis pleased me and made me feel that I was quite an important person. By andby an old crow flew near me, and after looking at me carefully he perched uponmy shoulder and said:

“‘I wonder if that farmer thought to fool me in this clumsy manner.Any crow of sense could see that you are only stuffed with straw.’ Thenhe hopped down at my feet and ate all the corn he wanted. The other birds,seeing he was not harmed by me, came to eat the corn too, so in a short timethere was a great flock of them about me.

“I felt sad at this, for it showed I was not such a good Scarecrow afterall; but the old crow comforted me, saying, ‘If you only had brains inyour head you would be as good a man as any of them, and a better man than someof them. Brains are the only things worth having in this world, no matterwhether one is a crow or a man.’

“After the crows had gone I thought this over, and decided I would tryhard to get some brains. By good luck you came along and pulled me off thestake, and from what you say I am sure the Great Oz will give me brains as soonas we get to the Emerald City.”

“I hope so,” said Dorothy earnestly, “since you seem anxiousto have them.”

“Oh, yes; I am anxious,” returned the Scarecrow. “It is suchan uncomfortable feeling to know one is a fool.”

“Well,” said the girl, “let us go.” And she handed thebasket to the Scarecrow.

There were no fences at all by the roadside now, and the land was rough anduntilled. Toward evening they came to a great forest, where the trees grew sobig and close together that their branches met over the road of yellow brick.It was almost dark under the trees, for the branches shut out the daylight; butthe travelers did not stop, and went on into the forest.

“If this road goes in, it must come out,” said the Scarecrow,“and as the Emerald City is at the other end of the road, we must gowherever it leads us.”

“Anyone would know that,” said Dorothy.

“Certainly; that is why I know it,” returned the Scarecrow.“If it required brains to figure it out, I never should have saidit.”

After an hour or so the light faded away, and they found themselves stumblingalong in the darkness. Dorothy could not see at all, but Toto could, for somedogs see very well in the dark; and the Scarecrow declared he could see as wellas by day. So she took hold of his arm and managed to get along fairly well.

“If you see any house, or any place where we can pass the night,”she said, “you must tell me; for it is very uncomfortable walking in thedark.”

Soon after the Scarecrow stopped.

“I see a little cottage at the right of us,” he said, “builtof logs and branches. Shall we go there?”

“Yes, indeed,” answered the child. “I am all tiredout.”

So the Scarecrow led her through the trees until they reached the cottage, andDorothy entered and found a bed of dried leaves in one corner. She lay down atonce, and with Toto beside her soon fell into a sound sleep. The Scarecrow, whowas never tired, stood up in another corner and waited patiently until morningcame.

Chapter V
The Rescue of the Tin Woodman

When Dorothy awoke the sun was shining through the trees and Toto had long beenout chasing birds around him and squirrels. She sat up and looked around her.There was the Scarecrow, still standing patiently in his corner, waiting forher.

“We must go and search for water,” she said to him.

“Why do you want water?” he asked.

“To wash my face clean after the dust of the road, and to drink, so thedry bread will not stick in my throat.”

“It must be inconvenient to be made of flesh,” said the Scarecrowthoughtfully, “for you must sleep, and eat and drink. However, you havebrains, and it is worth a lot of bother to be able to think properly.”

They left the cottage and walked through the trees until they found a littlespring of clear water, where Dorothy drank and bathed and ate her breakfast.She saw there was not much bread left in the basket, and the girl was thankfulthe Scarecrow did not have to eat anything, for there was scarcely enough forherself and Toto for the day.

When she had finished her meal, and was about to go back to the road of yellowbrick, she was startled to hear a deep groan near by.

“What was that?” she asked timidly.

“I cannot imagine,” replied the Scarecrow; “but we can go andsee.”

Just then another groan reached their ears, and the sound seemed to come frombehind them. They turned and walked through the forest a few steps, whenDorothy discovered something shining in a ray of sunshine that fell between thetrees. She ran to the place and then stopped short, with a little cry ofsurprise.

One of the big trees had been partly chopped through, and standing beside it,with an uplifted axe in his hands, was a man made entirely of tin. His head andarms and legs were jointed upon his body, but he stood perfectly motionless, asif he could not stir at all.

Dorothy looked at him in amazement, and so did the Scarecrow, while Toto barkedsharply and made a snap at the tin legs, which hurt his teeth.

“Did you groan?” asked Dorothy.

“Yes,” answered the tin man, “I did. I’ve been groaningfor more than a year, and no one has ever heard me before or come to helpme.”

“What can I do for you?” she inquired softly, for she was moved bythe sad voice in which the man spoke.

“Get an oil-can and oil my joints,” he answered. “They arerusted so badly that I cannot move them at all; if I am well oiled I shall soonbe all right again. You will find an oil-can on a shelf in my cottage.”

Dorothy at once ran back to the cottage and found the oil-can, and then shereturned and asked anxiously, “Where are your joints?”

“Oil my neck, first,” replied the Tin Woodman. So she oiled it, andas it was quite badly rusted the Scarecrow took hold of the tin head and movedit gently from side to side until it worked freely, and then the man could turnit himself.

“Now oil the joints in my arms,” he said. And Dorothy oiled themand the Scarecrow bent them carefully until they were quite free from rust andas good as new.

The Tin Woodman gave a sigh of satisfaction and lowered his axe, which heleaned against the tree.

“This is a great comfort,” he said. “I have been holding thataxe in the air ever since I rusted, and I’m glad to be able to put itdown at last. Now, if you will oil the joints of my legs, I shall be all rightonce more.”

So they oiled his legs until he could move them freely; and he thanked themagain and again for his release, for he seemed a very polite creature, and verygrateful.

“I might have stood there always if you had not come along,” hesaid; “so you have certainly saved my life. How did you happen to behere?”

“We are on our way to the Emerald City to see the Great Oz,” sheanswered, “and we stopped at your cottage to pass the night.”

“Why do you wish to see Oz?” he asked.

“I want him to send me back to Kansas, and the Scarecrow wants him to puta few brains into his head,” she replied.

The Tin Woodman appeared to think deeply for a moment. Then he said:

“Do you suppose Oz could give me a heart?”

“Why, I guess so,” Dorothy answered. “It would be as easy asto give the Scarecrow brains.”

“True,” the Tin Woodman returned. “So, if you will allow meto join your party, I will also go to the Emerald City and ask Oz to helpme.”

“Come along,” said the Scarecrow heartily, and Dorothy added thatshe would be pleased to have his company. So the Tin Woodman shouldered his axeand they all passed through the forest until they came to the road that waspaved with yellow brick.

The Tin Woodman had asked Dorothy to put the oil-can in her basket.“For,” he said, “if I should get caught in the rain, and rustagain, I would need the oil-can badly.”

It was a bit of good luck to have their new comrade join the party, for soonafter they had begun their journey again they came to a place where the treesand branches grew so thick over the road that the travelers could not pass. Butthe Tin Woodman set to work with his axe and chopped so well that soon hecleared a passage for the entire party.

Dorothy was thinking so earnestly as they walked along that she did not noticewhen the Scarecrow stumbled into a hole and rolled over to the side of theroad. Indeed he was obliged to call to her to help him up again.

“Why didn’t you walk around the hole?” asked the Tin Woodman.

“I don’t know enough,” replied the Scarecrow cheerfully.“My head is stuffed with straw, you know, and that is why I am going toOz to ask him for some brains.”

“Oh, I see,” said the Tin Woodman. “But, after all, brainsare not the best things in the world.”

“Have you any?” inquired the Scarecrow.

“No, my head is quite empty,” answered the Woodman. “But onceI had brains, and a heart also; so, having tried them both, I should muchrather have a heart.”

“And why is that?” asked the Scarecrow.

“I will tell you my story, and then you will know.”

So, while they were walking through the forest, the Tin Woodman told thefollowing story:

“I was born the son of a woodman who chopped down trees in the forest andsold the wood for a living. When I grew up, I too became a wood-chopper, andafter my father died I took care of my old mother as long as she lived. Then Imade up my mind that instead of living alone I would marry, so that I might notbecome lonely.

“There was one of the Munchkin girls who was so beautiful that I soongrew to love her with all my heart. She, on her part, promised to marry me assoon as I could earn enough money to build a better house for her; so I set towork harder than ever. But the girl lived with an old woman who did not wanther to marry anyone, for she was so lazy she wished the girl to remain with herand do the cooking and the housework. So the old woman went to the Wicked Witchof the East, and promised her two sheep and a cow if she would prevent themarriage. Thereupon the Wicked Witch enchanted my axe, and when I was choppingaway at my best one day, for I was anxious to get the new house and my wife assoon as possible, the axe slipped all at once and cut off my left leg.

“This at first seemed a great misfortune, for I knew a one-legged mancould not do very well as a wood-chopper. So I went to a tinsmith and had himmake me a new leg out of tin. The leg worked very well, once I was used to it.But my action angered the Wicked Witch of the East, for she had promised theold woman I should not marry the pretty Munchkin girl. When I began choppingagain, my axe slipped and cut off my right leg. Again I went to the tinsmith,and again he made me a leg out of tin. After this the enchanted axe cut off myarms, one after the other; but, nothing daunted, I had them replaced with tinones. The Wicked Witch then made the axe slip and cut off my head, and at firstI thought that was the end of me. But the tinsmith happened to come along, andhe made me a new head out of tin.

“I thought I had beaten the Wicked Witch then, and I worked harder thanever; but I little knew how cruel my enemy could be. She thought of a new wayto kill my love for the beautiful Munchkin maiden, and made my axe slip again,so that it cut right through my body, splitting me into two halves. Once morethe tinsmith came to my help and made me a body of tin, fastening my tin armsand legs and head to it, by means of joints, so that I could move around aswell as ever. But, alas! I had now no heart, so that I lost all my love for theMunchkin girl, and did not care whether I married her or not. I suppose she isstill living with the old woman, waiting for me to come after her.

“My body shone so brightly in the sun that I felt very proud of it and itdid not matter now if my axe slipped, for it could not cut me. There was onlyone danger—that my joints would rust; but I kept an oil-can in my cottageand took care to oil myself whenever I needed it. However, there came a daywhen I forgot to do this, and, being caught in a rainstorm, before I thought ofthe danger my joints had rusted, and I was left to stand in the woods until youcame to help me. It was a terrible thing to undergo, but during the year Istood there I had time to think that the greatest loss I had known was the lossof my heart. While I was in love I was the happiest man on earth; but no onecan love who has not a heart, and so I am resolved to ask Oz to give me one. Ifhe does, I will go back to the Munchkin maiden and marry her.”

Both Dorothy and the Scarecrow had been greatly interested in the story of theTin Woodman, and now they knew why he was so anxious to get a new heart.

“All the same,” said the Scarecrow, “I shall ask for brainsinstead of a heart; for a fool would not know what to do with a heart if he hadone.”

“I shall take the heart,” returned the Tin Woodman; “forbrains do not make one happy, and happiness is the best thing in theworld.”

Dorothy did not say anything, for she was puzzled to know which of her twofriends was right, and she decided if she could only get back to Kansas andAunt Em, it did not matter so much whether the Woodman had no brains and theScarecrow no heart, or each got what he wanted.

What worried her most was that the bread was nearly gone, and another meal forherself and Toto would empty the basket. To be sure, neither the Woodman northe Scarecrow ever ate anything, but she was not made of tin nor straw, andcould not live unless she was fed.

Chapter VI
The Cowardly Lion

All this time Dorothy and her companions had been walking through the thickwoods. The road was still paved with yellow brick, but these were much coveredby dried branches and dead leaves from the trees, and the walking was not atall good.

There were few birds in this part of the forest, for birds love the opencountry where there is plenty of sunshine. But now and then there came a deepgrowl from some wild animal hidden among the trees. These sounds made thelittle girl’s heart beat fast, for she did not know what made them; butToto knew, and he walked close to Dorothy’s side, and did not even barkin return.

“How long will it be,” the child asked of the Tin Woodman,“before we are out of the forest?”

“I cannot tell,” was the answer, “for I have never been tothe Emerald City. But my father went there once, when I was a boy, and he saidit was a long journey through a dangerous country, although nearer to the citywhere Oz dwells the country is beautiful. But I am not afraid so long as I havemy oil-can, and nothing can hurt the Scarecrow, while you bear upon yourforehead the mark of the Good Witch’s kiss, and that will protect youfrom harm.”

“But Toto!” said the girl anxiously. “What will protecthim?”

“We must protect him ourselves if he is in danger,” replied the TinWoodman.

Just as he spoke there came from the forest a terrible roar, and the nextmoment a great Lion bounded into the road. With one blow of his paw he sent theScarecrow spinning over and over to the edge of the road, and then he struck atthe Tin Woodman with his sharp claws. But, to the Lion’s surprise, hecould make no impression on the tin, although the Woodman fell over in the roadand lay still.

Little Toto, now that he had an enemy to face, ran barking toward the Lion, andthe great beast had opened his mouth to bite the dog, when Dorothy, fearingToto would be killed, and heedless of danger, rushed forward and slapped theLion upon his nose as hard as she could, while she cried out:

“Don’t you dare to bite Toto! You ought to be ashamed of yourself,a big beast like you, to bite a poor little dog!”

“I didn’t bite him,” said the Lion, as he rubbed his nosewith his paw where Dorothy had hit it.

“No, but you tried to,” she retorted. “You are nothing but abig coward.”

“I know it,” said the Lion, hanging his head in shame.“I’ve always known it. But how can I help it?”

“I don’t know, I’m sure. To think of your striking a stuffedman, like the poor Scarecrow!”

“Is he stuffed?” asked the Lion in surprise, as he watched her pickup the Scarecrow and set him upon his feet, while she patted him into shapeagain.

“Of course he’s stuffed,” replied Dorothy, who was stillangry.

“That’s why he went over so easily,” remarked the Lion.“It astonished me to see him whirl around so. Is the other one stuffedalso?”

“No,” said Dorothy, “he’s made of tin.” And shehelped the Woodman up again.

“That’s why he nearly blunted my claws,” said the Lion.“When they scratched against the tin it made a cold shiver run down myback. What is that little animal you are so tender of?”

“He is my dog, Toto,” answered Dorothy.

“Is he made of tin, or stuffed?” asked the Lion.

“Neither. He’s a—a—a meat dog,” said the girl.

“Oh! He’s a curious animal and seems remarkably small, now that Ilook at him. No one would think of biting such a little thing, except a cowardlike me,” continued the Lion sadly.

“What makes you a coward?” asked Dorothy, looking at the greatbeast in wonder, for he was as big as a small horse.

“It’s a mystery,” replied the Lion. “I suppose I wasborn that way. All the other animals in the forest naturally expect me to bebrave, for the Lion is everywhere thought to be the King of Beasts. I learnedthat if I roared very loudly every living thing was frightened and got out ofmy way. Whenever I’ve met a man I’ve been awfully scared; but Ijust roared at him, and he has always run away as fast as he could go. If theelephants and the tigers and the bears had ever tried to fight me, I shouldhave run myself—I’m such a coward; but just as soon as they hear meroar they all try to get away from me, and of course I let them go.”

“But that isn’t right. The King of Beasts shouldn’t be acoward,” said the Scarecrow.

“I know it,” returned the Lion, wiping a tear from his eye with thetip of his tail. “It is my great sorrow, and makes my life very unhappy.But whenever there is danger, my heart begins to beat fast.”

“Perhaps you have heart disease,” said the Tin Woodman.

“It may be,” said the Lion.

“If you have,” continued the Tin Woodman, “you ought to beglad, for it proves you have a heart. For my part, I have no heart; so I cannothave heart disease.”

“Perhaps,” said the Lion thoughtfully, “if I had no heart Ishould not be a coward.”

“Have you brains?” asked the Scarecrow.

“I suppose so. I’ve never looked to see,” replied the Lion.

“I am going to the Great Oz to ask him to give me some,” remarkedthe Scarecrow, “for my head is stuffed with straw.”

“And I am going to ask him to give me a heart,” said the Woodman.

“And I am going to ask him to send Toto and me back to Kansas,”added Dorothy.

“Do you think Oz could give me courage?” asked the Cowardly Lion.

“Just as easily as he could give me brains,” said the Scarecrow.

“Or give me a heart,” said the Tin Woodman.

“Or send me back to Kansas,” said Dorothy.

“Then, if you don’t mind, I’ll go with you,” said theLion, “for my life is simply unbearable without a bit of courage.”

“You will be very welcome,” answered Dorothy, “for you willhelp to keep away the other wild beasts. It seems to me they must be morecowardly than you are if they allow you to scare them so easily.”

“They really are,” said the Lion, “but that doesn’tmake me any braver, and as long as I know myself to be a coward I shall beunhappy.”

So once more the little company set off upon the journey, the Lion walking withstately strides at Dorothy’s side. Toto did not approve of this newcomrade at first, for he could not forget how nearly he had been crushedbetween the Lion’s great jaws. But after a time he became more at ease,and presently Toto and the Cowardly Lion had grown to be good friends.

During the rest of that day there was no other adventure to mar the peace oftheir journey. Once, indeed, the Tin Woodman stepped upon a beetle that wascrawling along the road, and killed the poor little thing. This made the TinWoodman very unhappy, for he was always careful not to hurt any livingcreature; and as he walked along he wept several tears of sorrow and regret.These tears ran slowly down his face and over the hinges of his jaw, and therethey rusted. When Dorothy presently asked him a question the Tin Woodman couldnot open his mouth, for his jaws were tightly rusted together. He becamegreatly frightened at this and made many motions to Dorothy to relieve him, butshe could not understand. The Lion was also puzzled to know what was wrong. Butthe Scarecrow seized the oil-can from Dorothy’s basket and oiled theWoodman’s jaws, so that after a few moments he could talk as well asbefore.

“This will serve me a lesson,” said he, “to look where Istep. For if I should kill another bug or beetle I should surely cry again, andcrying rusts my jaws so that I cannot speak.”

Thereafter he walked very carefully, with his eyes on the road, and when he sawa tiny ant toiling by he would step over it, so as not to harm it. The TinWoodman knew very well he had no heart, and therefore he took great care neverto be cruel or unkind to anything.

“You people with hearts,” he said, “have something to guideyou, and need never do wrong; but I have no heart, and so I must be verycareful. When Oz gives me a heart of course I needn’t mind somuch.”

Chapter VII
The Journey to the Great Oz

They were obliged to camp out that night under a large tree in the forest, forthere were no houses near. The tree made a good, thick covering to protect themfrom the dew, and the Tin Woodman chopped a great pile of wood with his axe andDorothy built a splendid fire that warmed her and made her feel less lonely.She and Toto ate the last of their bread, and now she did not know what theywould do for breakfast.

“If you wish,” said the Lion, “I will go into the forest andkill a deer for you. You can roast it by the fire, since your tastes are sopeculiar that you prefer cooked food, and then you will have a very goodbreakfast.”

“Don’t! Please don’t,” begged the Tin Woodman. “Ishould certainly weep if you killed a poor deer, and then my jaws would rustagain.”

But the Lion went away into the forest and found his own supper, and no oneever knew what it was, for he didn’t mention it. And the Scarecrow founda tree full of nuts and filled Dorothy’s basket with them, so that shewould not be hungry for a long time. She thought this was very kind andthoughtful of the Scarecrow, but she laughed heartily at the awkward way inwhich the poor creature picked up the nuts. His padded hands were so clumsy andthe nuts were so small that he dropped almost as many as he put in the basket.But the Scarecrow did not mind how long it took him to fill the basket, for itenabled him to keep away from the fire, as he feared a spark might get into hisstraw and burn him up. So he kept a good distance away from the flames, andonly came near to cover Dorothy with dry leaves when she lay down to sleep.These kept her very snug and warm, and she slept soundly until morning.

When it was daylight, the girl bathed her face in a little rippling brook, andsoon after they all started toward the Emerald City.

This was to be an eventful day for the travelers. They had hardly been walkingan hour when they saw before them a great ditch that crossed the road anddivided the forest as far as they could see on either side. It was a very wideditch, and when they crept up to the edge and looked into it they could see itwas also very deep, and there were many big, jagged rocks at the bottom. Thesides were so steep that none of them could climb down, and for a moment itseemed that their journey must end.

“What shall we do?” asked Dorothy despairingly.

“I haven’t the faintest idea,” said the Tin Woodman, and theLion shook his shaggy mane and looked thoughtful.

But the Scarecrow said, “We cannot fly, that is certain. Neither can weclimb down into this great ditch. Therefore, if we cannot jump over it, we muststop where we are.”

“I think I could jump over it,” said the Cowardly Lion, aftermeasuring the distance carefully in his mind.

“Then we are all right,” answered the Scarecrow, “for you cancarry us all over on your back, one at a time.”

“Well, I’ll try it,” said the Lion. “Who will gofirst?”

“I will,” declared the Scarecrow, “for, if you found that youcould not jump over the gulf, Dorothy would be killed, or the Tin Woodman badlydented on the rocks below. But if I am on your back it will not matter so much,for the fall would not hurt me at all.”

“I am terribly afraid of falling, myself,” said the Cowardly Lion,“but I suppose there is nothing to do but try it. So get on my back andwe will make the attempt.”

The Scarecrow sat upon the Lion’s back, and the big beast walked to theedge of the gulf and crouched down.

“Why don’t you run and jump?” asked the Scarecrow.

“Because that isn’t the way we Lions do these things,” hereplied. Then giving a great spring, he shot through the air and landed safelyon the other side. They were all greatly pleased to see how easily he did it,and after the Scarecrow had got down from his back the Lion sprang across theditch again.

Dorothy thought she would go next; so she took Toto in her arms and climbed onthe Lion’s back, holding tightly to his mane with one hand. The nextmoment it seemed as if she were flying through the air; and then, before shehad time to think about it, she was safe on the other side. The Lion went backa third time and got the Tin Woodman, and then they all sat down for a fewmoments to give the beast a chance to rest, for his great leaps had made hisbreath short, and he panted like a big dog that has been running too long.

They found the forest very thick on this side, and it looked dark and gloomy.After the Lion had rested they started along the road of yellow brick, silentlywondering, each in his own mind, if ever they would come to the end of thewoods and reach the bright sunshine again. To add to their discomfort, theysoon heard strange noises in the depths of the forest, and the Lion whisperedto them that it was in this part of the country that the Kalidahs lived.

“What are the Kalidahs?” asked the girl.

“They are monstrous beasts with bodies like bears and heads liketigers,” replied the Lion, “and with claws so long and sharp thatthey could tear me in two as easily as I could kill Toto. I’m terriblyafraid of the Kalidahs.”

“I’m not surprised that you are,” returned Dorothy.“They must be dreadful beasts.”

The Lion was about to reply when suddenly they came to another gulf across theroad. But this one was so broad and deep that the Lion knew at once he couldnot leap across it.

So they sat down to consider what they should do, and after serious thought theScarecrow said:

“Here is a great tree, standing close to the ditch. If the Tin Woodmancan chop it down, so that it will fall to the other side, we can walk across iteasily.”

“That is a first-rate idea,” said the Lion. “One would almostsuspect you had brains in your head, instead of straw.”

The Woodman set to work at once, and so sharp was his axe that the tree wassoon chopped nearly through. Then the Lion put his strong front legs againstthe tree and pushed with all his might, and slowly the big tree tipped and fellwith a crash across the ditch, with its top branches on the other side.

They had just started to cross this queer bridge when a sharp growl made themall look up, and to their horror they saw running toward them two great beastswith bodies like bears and heads like tigers.

“They are the Kalidahs!” said the Cowardly Lion, beginning totremble.

“Quick!” cried the Scarecrow. “Let us cross over.”

So Dorothy went first, holding Toto in her arms, the Tin Woodman followed, andthe Scarecrow came next. The Lion, although he was certainly afraid, turned toface the Kalidahs, and then he gave so loud and terrible a roar that Dorothyscreamed and the Scarecrow fell over backward, while even the fierce beastsstopped short and looked at him in surprise.

But, seeing they were bigger than the Lion, and remembering that there were twoof them and only one of him, the Kalidahs again rushed forward, and the Lioncrossed over the tree and turned to see what they would do next. Withoutstopping an instant the fierce beasts also began to cross the tree. And theLion said to Dorothy:

“We are lost, for they will surely tear us to pieces with their sharpclaws. But stand close behind me, and I will fight them as long as I amalive.”

“Wait a minute!” called the Scarecrow. He had been thinking whatwas best to be done, and now he asked the Woodman to chop away the end of thetree that rested on their side of the ditch. The Tin Woodman began to use hisaxe at once, and, just as the two Kalidahs were nearly across, the tree fellwith a crash into the gulf, carrying the ugly, snarling brutes with it, andboth were dashed to pieces on the sharp rocks at the bottom.

“Well,” said the Cowardly Lion, drawing a long breath of relief,“I see we are going to live a little while longer, and I am glad of it,for it must be a very uncomfortable thing not to be alive. Those creaturesfrightened me so badly that my heart is beating yet.”

“Ah,” said the Tin Woodman sadly, “I wish I had a heart tobeat.”

This adventure made the travelers more anxious than ever to get out of theforest, and they walked so fast that Dorothy became tired, and had to ride onthe Lion’s back. To their great joy the trees became thinner the fartherthey advanced, and in the afternoon they suddenly came upon a broad river,flowing swiftly just before them. On the other side of the water they could seethe road of yellow brick running through a beautiful country, with greenmeadows dotted with bright flowers and all the road bordered with trees hangingfull of delicious fruits. They were greatly pleased to see this delightfulcountry before them.

“How shall we cross the river?” asked Dorothy.

“That is easily done,” replied the Scarecrow. “The TinWoodman must build us a raft, so we can float to the other side.”

So the Woodman took his axe and began to chop down small trees to make a raft,and while he was busy at this the Scarecrow found on the riverbank a tree fullof fine fruit. This pleased Dorothy, who had eaten nothing but nuts all day,and she made a hearty meal of the ripe fruit.

But it takes time to make a raft, even when one is as industrious and untiringas the Tin Woodman, and when night came the work was not done. So they found acozy place under the trees where they slept well until the morning; and Dorothydreamed of the Emerald City, and of the good Wizard Oz, who would soon send herback to her own home again.

Chapter VIII
The Deadly Poppy Field

Our little party of travelers awakened the next morning refreshed and full ofhope, and Dorothy breakfasted like a princess off peaches and plums from thetrees beside the river. Behind them was the dark forest they had passed safelythrough, although they had suffered many discouragements; but before them was alovely, sunny country that seemed to beckon them on to the Emerald City.

To be sure, the broad river now cut them off from this beautiful land. But theraft was nearly done, and after the Tin Woodman had cut a few more logs andfastened them together with wooden pins, they were ready to start. Dorothy satdown in the middle of the raft and held Toto in her arms. When the CowardlyLion stepped upon the raft it tipped badly, for he was big and heavy; but theScarecrow and the Tin Woodman stood upon the other end to steady it, and theyhad long poles in their hands to push the raft through the water.

They got along quite well at first, but when they reached the middle of theriver the swift current swept the raft downstream, farther and farther awayfrom the road of yellow brick. And the water grew so deep that the long poleswould not touch the bottom.

“This is bad,” said the Tin Woodman, “for if we cannot get tothe land we shall be carried into the country of the Wicked Witch of the West,and she will enchant us and make us her slaves.”

“And then I should get no brains,” said the Scarecrow.

“And I should get no courage,” said the Cowardly Lion.

“And I should get no heart,” said the Tin Woodman.

“And I should never get back to Kansas,” said Dorothy.

“We must certainly get to the Emerald City if we can,” theScarecrow continued, and he pushed so hard on his long pole that it stuck fastin the mud at the bottom of the river. Then, before he could pull it outagain—or let go—the raft was swept away, and the poor Scarecrow wasleft clinging to the pole in the middle of the river.

“Good-bye!” he called after them, and they were very sorry to leavehim. Indeed, the Tin Woodman began to cry, but fortunately remembered that hemight rust, and so dried his tears on Dorothy’s apron.

Of course this was a bad thing for the Scarecrow.

“I am now worse off than when I first met Dorothy,” he thought.“Then, I was stuck on a pole in a cornfield, where I could make-believescare the crows, at any rate. But surely there is no use for a Scarecrow stuckon a pole in the middle of a river. I am afraid I shall never have any brains,after all!”

Down the stream the raft floated, and the poor Scarecrow was left far behind.Then the Lion said:

“Something must be done to save us. I think I can swim to the shore andpull the raft after me, if you will only hold fast to the tip of mytail.”

So he sprang into the water, and the Tin Woodman caught fast hold of his tail.Then the Lion began to swim with all his might toward the shore. It was hardwork, although he was so big; but by and by they were drawn out of the current,and then Dorothy took the Tin Woodman’s long pole and helped push theraft to the land.

They were all tired out when they reached the shore at last and stepped offupon the pretty green grass, and they also knew that the stream had carriedthem a long way past the road of yellow brick that led to the Emerald City.

“What shall we do now?” asked the Tin Woodman, as the Lion lay downon the grass to let the sun dry him.

“We must get back to the road, in some way,” said Dorothy.

“The best plan will be to walk along the riverbank until we come to theroad again,” remarked the Lion.

So, when they were rested, Dorothy picked up her basket and they started alongthe grassy bank, to the road from which the river had carried them. It was alovely country, with plenty of flowers and fruit trees and sunshine to cheerthem, and had they not felt so sorry for the poor Scarecrow, they could havebeen very happy.

They walked along as fast as they could, Dorothy only stopping once to pick abeautiful flower; and after a time the Tin Woodman cried out:“Look!”

Then they all looked at the river and saw the Scarecrow perched upon his polein the middle of the water, looking very lonely and sad.

“What can we do to save him?” asked Dorothy.

The Lion and the Woodman both shook their heads, for they did not know. So theysat down upon the bank and gazed wistfully at the Scarecrow until a Stork flewby, who, upon seeing them, stopped to rest at the water’s edge.

“Who are you and where are you going?” asked the Stork.

“I am Dorothy,” answered the girl, “and these are my friends,the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion; and we are going to the EmeraldCity.”

“This isn’t the road,” said the Stork, as she twisted herlong neck and looked sharply at the queer party.

“I know it,” returned Dorothy, “but we have lost theScarecrow, and are wondering how we shall get him again.”

“Where is he?” asked the Stork.

“Over there in the river,” answered the little girl.

“If he wasn’t so big and heavy I would get him for you,”remarked the Stork.

“He isn’t heavy a bit,” said Dorothy eagerly, “for heis stuffed with straw; and if you will bring him back to us, we shall thank youever and ever so much.”

“Well, I’ll try,” said the Stork, “but if I find he istoo heavy to carry I shall have to drop him in the river again.”

So the big bird flew into the air and over the water till she came to where theScarecrow was perched upon his pole. Then the Stork with her great clawsgrabbed the Scarecrow by the arm and carried him up into the air and back tothe bank, where Dorothy and the Lion and the Tin Woodman and Toto were sitting.

When the Scarecrow found himself among his friends again, he was so happy thathe hugged them all, even the Lion and Toto; and as they walked along he sang“Tol-de-ri-de-oh!” at every step, he felt so gay.

“I was afraid I should have to stay in the river forever,” he said,“but the kind Stork saved me, and if I ever get any brains I shall findthe Stork again and do her some kindness in return.”

“That’s all right,” said the Stork, who was flying alongbeside them. “I always like to help anyone in trouble. But I must go now,for my babies are waiting in the nest for me. I hope you will find the EmeraldCity and that Oz will help you.”

“Thank you,” replied Dorothy, and then the kind Stork flew into theair and was soon out of sight.

They walked along listening to the singing of the brightly colored birds andlooking at the lovely flowers which now became so thick that the ground wascarpeted with them. There were big yellow and white and blue and purpleblossoms, besides great clusters of scarlet poppies, which were so brilliant incolor they almost dazzled Dorothy’s eyes.

“Aren’t they beautiful?” the girl asked, as she breathed inthe spicy scent of the bright flowers.

“I suppose so,” answered the Scarecrow. “When I have brains,I shall probably like them better.”

“If I only had a heart, I should love them,” added the Tin Woodman.

“I always did like flowers,” said the Lion. “They seem sohelpless and frail. But there are none in the forest so bright as these.”

They now came upon more and more of the big scarlet poppies, and fewer andfewer of the other flowers; and soon they found themselves in the midst of agreat meadow of poppies. Now it is well known that when there are many of theseflowers together their odor is so powerful that anyone who breathes it fallsasleep, and if the sleeper is not carried away from the scent of the flowers,he sleeps on and on forever. But Dorothy did not know this, nor could she getaway from the bright red flowers that were everywhere about; so presently hereyes grew heavy and she felt she must sit down to rest and to sleep.

But the Tin Woodman would not let her do this.

“We must hurry and get back to the road of yellow brick beforedark,” he said; and the Scarecrow agreed with him. So they kept walkinguntil Dorothy could stand no longer. Her eyes closed in spite of herself andshe forgot where she was and fell among the poppies, fast asleep.

“What shall we do?” asked the Tin Woodman.

“If we leave her here she will die,” said the Lion. “Thesmell of the flowers is killing us all. I myself can scarcely keep my eyesopen, and the dog is asleep already.”

It was true; Toto had fallen down beside his little mistress. But the Scarecrowand the Tin Woodman, not being made of flesh, were not troubled by the scent ofthe flowers.

“Run fast,” said the Scarecrow to the Lion, “and get out ofthis deadly flower bed as soon as you can. We will bring the little girl withus, but if you should fall asleep you are too big to be carried.”

So the Lion aroused himself and bounded forward as fast as he could go. In amoment he was out of sight.

“Let us make a chair with our hands and carry her,” said theScarecrow. So they picked up Toto and put the dog in Dorothy’s lap, andthen they made a chair with their hands for the seat and their arms for thearms and carried the sleeping girl between them through the flowers.

On and on they walked, and it seemed that the great carpet of deadly flowersthat surrounded them would never end. They followed the bend of the river, andat last came upon their friend the Lion, lying fast asleep among the poppies.The flowers had been too strong for the huge beast and he had given up at last,and fallen only a short distance from the end of the poppy bed, where the sweetgrass spread in beautiful green fields before them.

“We can do nothing for him,” said the Tin Woodman, sadly;“for he is much too heavy to lift. We must leave him here to sleep onforever, and perhaps he will dream that he has found courage at last.”

“I’m sorry,” said the Scarecrow. “The Lion was a verygood comrade for one so cowardly. But let us go on.”

They carried the sleeping girl to a pretty spot beside the river, far enoughfrom the poppy field to prevent her breathing any more of the poison of theflowers, and here they laid her gently on the soft grass and waited for thefresh breeze to waken her.

Chapter IX
The Queen of the Field Mice

“We cannot be far from the road of yellow brick, now,” remarked theScarecrow, as he stood beside the girl, “for we have come nearly as faras the river carried us away.”

The Tin Woodman was about to reply when he heard a low growl, and turning hishead (which worked beautifully on hinges) he saw a strange beast come boundingover the grass toward them. It was, indeed, a great yellow Wildcat, and theWoodman thought it must be chasing something, for its ears were lying close toits head and its mouth was wide open, showing two rows of ugly teeth, while itsred eyes glowed like balls of fire. As it came nearer the Tin Woodman saw thatrunning before the beast was a little gray field mouse, and although he had noheart he knew it was wrong for the Wildcat to try to kill such a pretty,harmless creature.

So the Woodman raised his axe, and as the Wildcat ran by he gave it a quickblow that cut the beast’s head clean off from its body, and it rolledover at his feet in two pieces.

The field mouse, now that it was freed from its enemy, stopped short; andcoming slowly up to the Woodman it said, in a squeaky little voice:

“Oh, thank you! Thank you ever so much for saving my life.”

“Don’t speak of it, I beg of you,” replied the Woodman.“I have no heart, you know, so I am careful to help all those who mayneed a friend, even if it happens to be only a mouse.”

“Only a mouse!” cried the little animal, indignantly. “Why, Iam a Queen—the Queen of all the Field Mice!”

“Oh, indeed,” said the Woodman, making a bow.

“Therefore you have done a great deed, as well as a brave one, in savingmy life,” added the Queen.

At that moment several mice were seen running up as fast as their little legscould carry them, and when they saw their Queen they exclaimed:

“Oh, your Majesty, we thought you would be killed! How did you manage toescape the great Wildcat?” They all bowed so low to the little Queen thatthey almost stood upon their heads.

“This funny tin man,” she answered, “killed the Wildcat andsaved my life. So hereafter you must all serve him, and obey his slightestwish.”

“We will!” cried all the mice, in a shrill chorus. And then theyscampered in all directions, for Toto had awakened from his sleep, and seeingall these mice around him he gave one bark of delight and jumped right into themiddle of the group. Toto had always loved to chase mice when he lived inKansas, and he saw no harm in it.

But the Tin Woodman caught the dog in his arms and held him tight, while hecalled to the mice, “Come back! Come back! Toto shall not hurtyou.”

At this the Queen of the Mice stuck her head out from underneath a clump ofgrass and asked, in a timid voice, “Are you sure he will not biteus?”

“I will not let him,” said the Woodman; “so do not beafraid.”

One by one the mice came creeping back, and Toto did not bark again, althoughhe tried to get out of the Woodman’s arms, and would have bitten him hadhe not known very well he was made of tin. Finally one of the biggest micespoke.

“Is there anything we can do,” it asked, “to repay you forsaving the life of our Queen?”

“Nothing that I know of,” answered the Woodman; but the Scarecrow,who had been trying to think, but could not because his head was stuffed withstraw, said, quickly, “Oh, yes; you can save our friend, the CowardlyLion, who is asleep in the poppy bed.”

“A Lion!” cried the little Queen. “Why, he would eat us allup.”

“Oh, no,” declared the Scarecrow; “this Lion is acoward.”

“Really?” asked the Mouse.

“He says so himself,” answered the Scarecrow, “and he wouldnever hurt anyone who is our friend. If you will help us to save him I promisethat he shall treat you all with kindness.”

“Very well,” said the Queen, “we trust you. But what shall wedo?”

“Are there many of these mice which call you Queen and are willing toobey you?”

“Oh, yes; there are thousands,” she replied.

“Then send for them all to come here as soon as possible, and let eachone bring a long piece of string.”

The Queen turned to the mice that attended her and told them to go at once andget all her people. As soon as they heard her orders they ran away in everydirection as fast as possible.

“Now,” said the Scarecrow to the Tin Woodman, “you must go tothose trees by the riverside and make a truck that will carry the Lion.”

So the Woodman went at once to the trees and began to work; and he soon made atruck out of the limbs of trees, from which he chopped away all the leaves andbranches. He fastened it together with wooden pegs and made the four wheels outof short pieces of a big tree trunk. So fast and so well did he work that bythe time the mice began to arrive the truck was all ready for them.

They came from all directions, and there were thousands of them: big mice andlittle mice and middle-sized mice; and each one brought a piece of string inhis mouth. It was about this time that Dorothy woke from her long sleep andopened her eyes. She was greatly astonished to find herself lying upon thegrass, with thousands of mice standing around and looking at her timidly. Butthe Scarecrow told her about everything, and turning to the dignified littleMouse, he said:

“Permit me to introduce to you her Majesty, the Queen.”

Dorothy nodded gravely and the Queen made a curtsy, after which she becamequite friendly with the little girl.

The Scarecrow and the Woodman now began to fasten the mice to the truck, usingthe strings they had brought. One end of a string was tied around the neck ofeach mouse and the other end to the truck. Of course the truck was a thousandtimes bigger than any of the mice who were to draw it; but when all the micehad been harnessed, they were able to pull it quite easily. Even the Scarecrowand the Tin Woodman could sit on it, and were drawn swiftly by their queerlittle horses to the place where the Lion lay asleep.

After a great deal of hard work, for the Lion was heavy, they managed to gethim up on the truck. Then the Queen hurriedly gave her people the order tostart, for she feared if the mice stayed among the poppies too long they alsowould fall asleep.

At first the little creatures, many though they were, could hardly stir theheavily loaded truck; but the Woodman and the Scarecrow both pushed frombehind, and they got along better. Soon they rolled the Lion out of the poppybed to the green fields, where he could breathe the sweet, fresh air again,instead of the poisonous scent of the flowers.

Dorothy came to meet them and thanked the little mice warmly for saving hercompanion from death. She had grown so fond of the big Lion she was glad he hadbeen rescued.

Then the mice were unharnessed from the truck and scampered away through thegrass to their homes. The Queen of the Mice was the last to leave.

“If ever you need us again,” she said, “come out into thefield and call, and we shall hear you and come to your assistance.Good-bye!”

“Good-bye!” they all answered, and away the Queen ran, whileDorothy held Toto tightly lest he should run after her and frighten her.

After this they sat down beside the Lion until he should awaken; and theScarecrow brought Dorothy some fruit from a tree near by, which she ate for herdinner.

Chapter X
The Guardian of the Gate

It was some time before the Cowardly Lion awakened, for he had lain among thepoppies a long while, breathing in their deadly fragrance; but when he did openhis eyes and roll off the truck he was very glad to find himself still alive.

“I ran as fast as I could,” he said, sitting down and yawning,“but the flowers were too strong for me. How did you get me out?”

Then they told him of the field mice, and how they had generously saved himfrom death; and the Cowardly Lion laughed, and said:

“I have always thought myself very big and terrible; yet such littlethings as flowers came near to killing me, and such small animals as mice havesaved my life. How strange it all is! But, comrades, what shall we donow?”

“We must journey on until we find the road of yellow brick again,”said Dorothy, “and then we can keep on to the Emerald City.”

So, the Lion being fully refreshed, and feeling quite himself again, they allstarted upon the journey, greatly enjoying the walk through the soft, freshgrass; and it was not long before they reached the road of yellow brick andturned again toward the Emerald City where the Great Oz dwelt.

The road was smooth and well paved, now, and the country about was beautiful,so that the travelers rejoiced in leaving the forest far behind, and with itthe many dangers they had met in its gloomy shades. Once more they could seefences built beside the road; but these were painted green, and when they cameto a small house, in which a farmer evidently lived, that also was paintedgreen. They passed by several of these houses during the afternoon, andsometimes people came to the doors and looked at them as if they would like toask questions; but no one came near them nor spoke to them because of the greatLion, of which they were very much afraid. The people were all dressed inclothing of a lovely emerald-green color and wore peaked hats like those of theMunchkins.

“This must be the Land of Oz,” said Dorothy, “and we aresurely getting near the Emerald City.”

“Yes,” answered the Scarecrow. “Everything is green here,while in the country of the Munchkins blue was the favorite color. But thepeople do not seem to be as friendly as the Munchkins, and I’m afraid weshall be unable to find a place to pass the night.”

“I should like something to eat besides fruit,” said the girl,“and I’m sure Toto is nearly starved. Let us stop at the next houseand talk to the people.”

So, when they came to a good-sized farmhouse, Dorothy walked boldly up to thedoor and knocked.

A woman opened it just far enough to look out, and said, “What do youwant, child, and why is that great Lion with you?”

“We wish to pass the night with you, if you will allow us,”answered Dorothy; “and the Lion is my friend and comrade, and would nothurt you for the world.”

“Is he tame?” asked the woman, opening the door a little wider.

“Oh, yes,” said the girl, “and he is a great coward, too. Hewill be more afraid of you than you are of him.”

“Well,” said the woman, after thinking it over and taking anotherpeep at the Lion, “if that is the case you may come in, and I will giveyou some supper and a place to sleep.”

So they all entered the house, where there were, besides the woman, twochildren and a man. The man had hurt his leg, and was lying on the couch in acorner. They seemed greatly surprised to see so strange a company, and whilethe woman was busy laying the table the man asked:

“Where are you all going?”

“To the Emerald City,” said Dorothy, “to see the GreatOz.”

“Oh, indeed!” exclaimed the man. “Are you sure that Oz willsee you?”

“Why not?” she replied.

“Why, it is said that he never lets anyone come into his presence. I havebeen to the Emerald City many times, and it is a beautiful and wonderful place;but I have never been permitted to see the Great Oz, nor do I know of anyliving person who has seen him.”

“Does he never go out?” asked the Scarecrow.

“Never. He sits day after day in the great Throne Room of his Palace, andeven those who wait upon him do not see him face to face.”

“What is he like?” asked the girl.

“That is hard to tell,” said the man thoughtfully. “You see,Oz is a Great Wizard, and can take on any form he wishes. So that some say helooks like a bird; and some say he looks like an elephant; and some say helooks like a cat. To others he appears as a beautiful fairy, or a brownie, orin any other form that pleases him. But who the real Oz is, when he is in hisown form, no living person can tell.”

“That is very strange,” said Dorothy, “but we must try, insome way, to see him, or we shall have made our journey for nothing.”

“Why do you wish to see the terrible Oz?” asked the man.

“I want him to give me some brains,” said the Scarecrow eagerly.

“Oh, Oz could do that easily enough,” declared the man. “Hehas more brains than he needs.”

“And I want him to give me a heart,” said the Tin Woodman.

“That will not trouble him,” continued the man, “for Oz has alarge collection of hearts, of all sizes and shapes.”

“And I want him to give me courage,” said the Cowardly Lion.

“Oz keeps a great pot of courage in his Throne Room,” said the man,“which he has covered with a golden plate, to keep it from running over.He will be glad to give you some.”

“And I want him to send me back to Kansas,” said Dorothy.

“Where is Kansas?” asked the man, with surprise.

“I don’t know,” replied Dorothy sorrowfully, “but it ismy home, and I’m sure it’s somewhere.”

“Very likely. Well, Oz can do anything; so I suppose he will find Kansasfor you. But first you must get to see him, and that will be a hard task; forthe Great Wizard does not like to see anyone, and he usually has his own way.But what do YOU want?” he continued, speaking to Toto. Toto only waggedhis tail; for, strange to say, he could not speak.

The woman now called to them that supper was ready, so they gathered around thetable and Dorothy ate some delicious porridge and a dish of scrambled eggs anda plate of nice white bread, and enjoyed her meal. The Lion ate some of theporridge, but did not care for it, saying it was made from oats and oats werefood for horses, not for lions. The Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman ate nothingat all. Toto ate a little of everything, and was glad to get a good supperagain.

The woman now gave Dorothy a bed to sleep in, and Toto lay down beside her,while the Lion guarded the door of her room so she might not be disturbed. TheScarecrow and the Tin Woodman stood up in a corner and kept quiet all night,although of course they could not sleep.

The next morning, as soon as the sun was up, they started on their way, andsoon saw a beautiful green glow in the sky just before them.

“That must be the Emerald City,” said Dorothy.

As they walked on, the green glow became brighter and brighter, and it seemedthat at last they were nearing the end of their travels. Yet it was afternoonbefore they came to the great wall that surrounded the City. It was high andthick and of a bright green color.

In front of them, and at the end of the road of yellow brick, was a big gate,all studded with emeralds that glittered so in the sun that even the paintedeyes of the Scarecrow were dazzled by their brilliancy.

There was a bell beside the gate, and Dorothy pushed the button and heard asilvery tinkle sound within. Then the big gate swung slowly open, and they allpassed through and found themselves in a high arched room, the walls of whichglistened with countless emeralds.

Before them stood a little man about the same size as the Munchkins. He wasclothed all in green, from his head to his feet, and even his skin was of agreenish tint. At his side was a large green box.

When he saw Dorothy and her companions the man asked, “What do you wishin the Emerald City?”

“We came here to see the Great Oz,” said Dorothy.

The man was so surprised at this answer that he sat down to think it over.

“It has been many years since anyone asked me to see Oz,” he said,shaking his head in perplexity. “He is powerful and terrible, and if youcome on an idle or foolish errand to bother the wise reflections of the GreatWizard, he might be angry and destroy you all in an instant.”

“But it is not a foolish errand, nor an idle one,” replied theScarecrow; “it is important. And we have been told that Oz is a goodWizard.”

“So he is,” said the green man, “and he rules the EmeraldCity wisely and well. But to those who are not honest, or who approach him fromcuriosity, he is most terrible, and few have ever dared ask to see his face. Iam the Guardian of the Gates, and since you demand to see the Great Oz I musttake you to his Palace. But first you must put on the spectacles.”

“Why?” asked Dorothy.

“Because if you did not wear spectacles the brightness and glory of theEmerald City would blind you. Even those who live in the City must wearspectacles night and day. They are all locked on, for Oz so ordered it when theCity was first built, and I have the only key that will unlock them.”

He opened the big box, and Dorothy saw that it was filled with spectacles ofevery size and shape. All of them had green glasses in them. The Guardian ofthe Gates found a pair that would just fit Dorothy and put them over her eyes.There were two golden bands fastened to them that passed around the back of herhead, where they were locked together by a little key that was at the end of achain the Guardian of the Gates wore around his neck. When they were on,Dorothy could not take them off had she wished, but of course she did not wishto be blinded by the glare of the Emerald City, so she said nothing.

Then the green man fitted spectacles for the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman andthe Lion, and even on little Toto; and all were locked fast with the key.

Then the Guardian of the Gates put on his own glasses and told them he wasready to show them to the Palace. Taking a big golden key from a peg on thewall, he opened another gate, and they all followed him through the portal intothe streets of the Emerald City.

Chapter XI
The Wonderful City of Oz

Even with eyes protected by the green spectacles, Dorothy and her friends wereat first dazzled by the brilliancy of the wonderful City. The streets werelined with beautiful houses all built of green marble and studded everywherewith sparkling emeralds. They walked over a pavement of the same green marble,and where the blocks were joined together were rows of emeralds, set closely,and glittering in the brightness of the sun. The window panes were of greenglass; even the sky above the City had a green tint, and the rays of the sunwere green.

There were many people—men, women, and children—walking about, andthese were all dressed in green clothes and had greenish skins. They looked atDorothy and her strangely assorted company with wondering eyes, and thechildren all ran away and hid behind their mothers when they saw the Lion; butno one spoke to them. Many shops stood in the street, and Dorothy saw thateverything in them was green. Green candy and green pop-corn were offered forsale, as well as green shoes, green hats, and green clothes of all sorts. Atone place a man was selling green lemonade, and when the children bought itDorothy could see that they paid for it with green pennies.

There seemed to be no horses nor animals of any kind; the men carried thingsaround in little green carts, which they pushed before them. Everyone seemedhappy and contented and prosperous.

The Guardian of the Gates led them through the streets until they came to a bigbuilding, exactly in the middle of the City, which was the Palace of Oz, theGreat Wizard. There was a soldier before the door, dressed in a green uniformand wearing a long green beard.

“Here are strangers,” said the Guardian of the Gates to him,“and they demand to see the Great Oz.”

“Step inside,” answered the soldier, “and I will carry yourmessage to him.”

So they passed through the Palace Gates and were led into a big room with agreen carpet and lovely green furniture set with emeralds. The soldier madethem all wipe their feet upon a green mat before entering this room, and whenthey were seated he said politely:

“Please make yourselves comfortable while I go to the door of the ThroneRoom and tell Oz you are here.”

They had to wait a long time before the soldier returned. When, at last, hecame back, Dorothy asked:

“Have you seen Oz?”

“Oh, no,” returned the soldier; “I have never seen him. But Ispoke to him as he sat behind his screen and gave him your message. He said hewill grant you an audience, if you so desire; but each one of you must enterhis presence alone, and he will admit but one each day. Therefore, as you mustremain in the Palace for several days, I will have you shown to rooms where youmay rest in comfort after your journey.”

“Thank you,” replied the girl; “that is very kind ofOz.”

The soldier now blew upon a green whistle, and at once a young girl, dressed ina pretty green silk gown, entered the room. She had lovely green hair and greeneyes, and she bowed low before Dorothy as she said, “Follow me and I willshow you your room.”

So Dorothy said good-bye to all her friends except Toto, and taking the dog inher arms followed the green girl through seven passages and up three flights ofstairs until they came to a room at the front of the Palace. It was thesweetest little room in the world, with a soft comfortable bed that had sheetsof green silk and a green velvet counterpane. There was a tiny fountain in themiddle of the room, that shot a spray of green perfume into the air, to fallback into a beautifully carved green marble basin. Beautiful green flowersstood in the windows, and there was a shelf with a row of little green books.When Dorothy had time to open these books she found them full of queer greenpictures that made her laugh, they were so funny.

In a wardrobe were many green dresses, made of silk and satin and velvet; andall of them fitted Dorothy exactly.

“Make yourself perfectly at home,” said the green girl, “andif you wish for anything ring the bell. Oz will send for you tomorrowmorning.”

She left Dorothy alone and went back to the others. These she also led torooms, and each one of them found himself lodged in a very pleasant part of thePalace. Of course this politeness was wasted on the Scarecrow; for when hefound himself alone in his room he stood stupidly in one spot, just within thedoorway, to wait till morning. It would not rest him to lie down, and he couldnot close his eyes; so he remained all night staring at a little spider whichwas weaving its web in a corner of the room, just as if it were not one of themost wonderful rooms in the world. The Tin Woodman lay down on his bed fromforce of habit, for he remembered when he was made of flesh; but not being ableto sleep, he passed the night moving his joints up and down to make sure theykept in good working order. The Lion would have preferred a bed of dried leavesin the forest, and did not like being shut up in a room; but he had too muchsense to let this worry him, so he sprang upon the bed and rolled himself uplike a cat and purred himself asleep in a minute.

The next morning, after breakfast, the green maiden came to fetch Dorothy, andshe dressed her in one of the prettiest gowns, made of green brocaded satin.Dorothy put on a green silk apron and tied a green ribbon around Toto’sneck, and they started for the Throne Room of the Great Oz.

First they came to a great hall in which were many ladies and gentlemen of thecourt, all dressed in rich costumes. These people had nothing to do but talk toeach other, but they always came to wait outside the Throne Room every morning,although they were never permitted to see Oz. As Dorothy entered they looked ather curiously, and one of them whispered:

“Are you really going to look upon the face of Oz the Terrible?”

“Of course,” answered the girl, “if he will see me.”

“Oh, he will see you,” said the soldier who had taken her messageto the Wizard, “although he does not like to have people ask to see him.Indeed, at first he was angry and said I should send you back where you camefrom. Then he asked me what you looked like, and when I mentioned your silvershoes he was very much interested. At last I told him about the mark upon yourforehead, and he decided he would admit you to his presence.”

Just then a bell rang, and the green girl said to Dorothy, “That is thesignal. You must go into the Throne Room alone.”

She opened a little door and Dorothy walked boldly through and found herself ina wonderful place. It was a big, round room with a high arched roof, and thewalls and ceiling and floor were covered with large emeralds set closelytogether. In the center of the roof was a great light, as bright as the sun,which made the emeralds sparkle in a wonderful manner.

But what interested Dorothy most was the big throne of green marble that stoodin the middle of the room. It was shaped like a chair and sparkled with gems,as did everything else. In the center of the chair was an enormous Head,without a body to support it or any arms or legs whatever. There was no hairupon this head, but it had eyes and a nose and mouth, and was much bigger thanthe head of the biggest giant.

As Dorothy gazed upon this in wonder and fear, the eyes turned slowly andlooked at her sharply and steadily. Then the mouth moved, and Dorothy heard avoice say:

“I am Oz, the Great and Terrible. Who are you, and why do you seekme?”

It was not such an awful voice as she had expected to come from the big Head;so she took courage and answered:

“I am Dorothy, the Small and Meek. I have come to you for help.”

The eyes looked at her thoughtfully for a full minute. Then said the voice:

“Where did you get the silver shoes?”

“I got them from the Wicked Witch of the East, when my house fell on herand killed her,” she replied.

“Where did you get the mark upon your forehead?” continued thevoice.

“That is where the Good Witch of the North kissed me when she bade megood-bye and sent me to you,” said the girl.

Again the eyes looked at her sharply, and they saw she was telling the truth.Then Oz asked, “What do you wish me to do?”

“Send me back to Kansas, where my Aunt Em and Uncle Henry are,” sheanswered earnestly. “I don’t like your country, although it is sobeautiful. And I am sure Aunt Em will be dreadfully worried over my being awayso long.”

The eyes winked three times, and then they turned up to the ceiling and down tothe floor and rolled around so queerly that they seemed to see every part ofthe room. And at last they looked at Dorothy again.

“Why should I do this for you?” asked Oz.

“Because you are strong and I am weak; because you are a Great Wizard andI am only a little girl.”

“But you were strong enough to kill the Wicked Witch of the East,”said Oz.

“That just happened,” returned Dorothy simply; “I could nothelp it.”

“Well,” said the Head, “I will give you my answer. You haveno right to expect me to send you back to Kansas unless you do something for mein return. In this country everyone must pay for everything he gets. If youwish me to use my magic power to send you home again you must do something forme first. Help me and I will help you.”

“What must I do?” asked the girl.

“Kill the Wicked Witch of the West,” answered Oz.

“But I cannot!” exclaimed Dorothy, greatly surprised.

“You killed the Witch of the East and you wear the silver shoes, whichbear a powerful charm. There is now but one Wicked Witch left in all this land,and when you can tell me she is dead I will send you back to Kansas—butnot before.”

The little girl began to weep, she was so much disappointed; and the eyeswinked again and looked upon her anxiously, as if the Great Oz felt that shecould help him if she would.

“I never killed anything, willingly,” she sobbed. “Even if Iwanted to, how could I kill the Wicked Witch? If you, who are Great andTerrible, cannot kill her yourself, how do you expect me to do it?”

“I do not know,” said the Head; “but that is my answer, anduntil the Wicked Witch dies you will not see your uncle and aunt again.Remember that the Witch is Wicked—tremendously Wicked—and ought tobe killed. Now go, and do not ask to see me again until you have done yourtask.”

Sorrowfully Dorothy left the Throne Room and went back where the Lion and theScarecrow and the Tin Woodman were waiting to hear what Oz had said to her.“There is no hope for me,” she said sadly, “for Oz will notsend me home until I have killed the Wicked Witch of the West; and that I cannever do.”

Her friends were sorry, but could do nothing to help her; so Dorothy went toher own room and lay down on the bed and cried herself to sleep.

The next morning the soldier with the green whiskers came to the Scarecrow andsaid:

“Come with me, for Oz has sent for you.”

So the Scarecrow followed him and was admitted into the great Throne Room,where he saw, sitting in the emerald throne, a most lovely Lady. She wasdressed in green silk gauze and wore upon her flowing green locks a crown ofjewels. Growing from her shoulders were wings, gorgeous in color and so lightthat they fluttered if the slightest breath of air reached them.

When the Scarecrow had bowed, as prettily as his straw stuffing would let him,before this beautiful creature, she looked upon him sweetly, and said:

“I am Oz, the Great and Terrible. Who are you, and why do you seekme?”

Now the Scarecrow, who had expected to see the great Head Dorothy had told himof, was much astonished; but he answered her bravely.

“I am only a Scarecrow, stuffed with straw. Therefore I have no brains,and I come to you praying that you will put brains in my head instead of straw,so that I may become as much a man as any other in your dominions.”

“Why should I do this for you?” asked the Lady.

“Because you are wise and powerful, and no one else can help me,”answered the Scarecrow.

“I never grant favors without some return,” said Oz; “butthis much I will promise. If you will kill for me the Wicked Witch of the West,I will bestow upon you a great many brains, and such good brains that you willbe the wisest man in all the Land of Oz.”

“I thought you asked Dorothy to kill the Witch,” said theScarecrow, in surprise.

“So I did. I don’t care who kills her. But until she is dead I willnot grant your wish. Now go, and do not seek me again until you have earned thebrains you so greatly desire.”

The Scarecrow went sorrowfully back to his friends and told them what Oz hadsaid; and Dorothy was surprised to find that the Great Wizard was not a Head,as she had seen him, but a lovely Lady.

“All the same,” said the Scarecrow, “she needs a heart asmuch as the Tin Woodman.”

On the next morning the soldier with the green whiskers came to the Tin Woodmanand said:

“Oz has sent for you. Follow me.”

So the Tin Woodman followed him and came to the great Throne Room. He did notknow whether he would find Oz a lovely Lady or a Head, but he hoped it would bethe lovely Lady. “For,” he said to himself, “if it is thehead, I am sure I shall not be given a heart, since a head has no heart of itsown and therefore cannot feel for me. But if it is the lovely Lady I shall beghard for a heart, for all ladies are themselves said to be kindlyhearted.”

But when the Woodman entered the great Throne Room he saw neither the Head northe Lady, for Oz had taken the shape of a most terrible Beast. It was nearly asbig as an elephant, and the green throne seemed hardly strong enough to holdits weight. The Beast had a head like that of a rhinoceros, only there werefive eyes in its face. There were five long arms growing out of its body, andit also had five long, slim legs. Thick, woolly hair covered every part of it,and a more dreadful-looking monster could not be imagined. It was fortunate theTin Woodman had no heart at that moment, for it would have beat loud and fastfrom terror. But being only tin, the Woodman was not at all afraid, although hewas much disappointed.

“I am Oz, the Great and Terrible,” spoke the Beast, in a voice thatwas one great roar. “Who are you, and why do you seek me?”

“I am a Woodman, and made of tin. Therefore I have no heart, and cannotlove. I pray you to give me a heart that I may be as other men are.”

“Why should I do this?” demanded the Beast.

“Because I ask it, and you alone can grant my request,” answeredthe Woodman.

Oz gave a low growl at this, but said, gruffly: “If you indeed desire aheart, you must earn it.”

“How?” asked the Woodman.

“Help Dorothy to kill the Wicked Witch of the West,” replied theBeast. “When the Witch is dead, come to me, and I will then give you thebiggest and kindest and most loving heart in all the Land of Oz.”

So the Tin Woodman was forced to return sorrowfully to his friends and tellthem of the terrible Beast he had seen. They all wondered greatly at the manyforms the Great Wizard could take upon himself, and the Lion said:

“If he is a Beast when I go to see him, I shall roar my loudest, and sofrighten him that he will grant all I ask. And if he is the lovely Lady, Ishall pretend to spring upon her, and so compel her to do my bidding. And if heis the great Head, he will be at my mercy; for I will roll this head all aboutthe room until he promises to give us what we desire. So be of good cheer, myfriends, for all will yet be well.”

The next morning the soldier with the green whiskers led the Lion to the greatThrone Room and bade him enter the presence of Oz.

The Lion at once passed through the door, and glancing around saw, to hissurprise, that before the throne was a Ball of Fire, so fierce and glowing hecould scarcely bear to gaze upon it. His first thought was that Oz had byaccident caught on fire and was burning up; but when he tried to go nearer, theheat was so intense that it singed his whiskers, and he crept back tremblinglyto a spot nearer the door.

Then a low, quiet voice came from the Ball of Fire, and these were the words itspoke:

“I am Oz, the Great and Terrible. Who are you, and why do you seekme?”

And the Lion answered, “I am a Cowardly Lion, afraid of everything. Icame to you to beg that you give me courage, so that in reality I may becomethe King of Beasts, as men call me.”

“Why should I give you courage?” demanded Oz.

“Because of all Wizards you are the greatest, and alone have power togrant my request,” answered the Lion.

The Ball of Fire burned fiercely for a time, and the voice said, “Bringme proof that the Wicked Witch is dead, and that moment I will give youcourage. But as long as the Witch lives, you must remain a coward.”

The Lion was angry at this speech, but could say nothing in reply, and while hestood silently gazing at the Ball of Fire it became so furiously hot that heturned tail and rushed from the room. He was glad to find his friends waitingfor him, and told them of his terrible interview with the Wizard.

“What shall we do now?” asked Dorothy sadly.

“There is only one thing we can do,” returned the Lion, “andthat is to go to the land of the Winkies, seek out the Wicked Witch, anddestroy her.”

“But suppose we cannot?” said the girl.

“Then I shall never have courage,” declared the Lion.

“And I shall never have brains,” added the Scarecrow.

“And I shall never have a heart,” spoke the Tin Woodman.

“And I shall never see Aunt Em and Uncle Henry,” said Dorothy,beginning to cry.

“Be careful!” cried the green girl. “The tears will fall onyour green silk gown and spot it.”

So Dorothy dried her eyes and said, “I suppose we must try it; but I amsure I do not want to kill anybody, even to see Aunt Em again.”

“I will go with you; but I’m too much of a coward to kill theWitch,” said the Lion.

“I will go too,” declared the Scarecrow; “but I shall not beof much help to you, I am such a fool.”

“I haven’t the heart to harm even a Witch,” remarked the TinWoodman; “but if you go I certainly shall go with you.”

Therefore it was decided to start upon their journey the next morning, and theWoodman sharpened his axe on a green grindstone and had all his joints properlyoiled. The Scarecrow stuffed himself with fresh straw and Dorothy put new painton his eyes that he might see better. The green girl, who was very kind tothem, filled Dorothy’s basket with good things to eat, and fastened alittle bell around Toto’s neck with a green ribbon.

They went to bed quite early and slept soundly until daylight, when they wereawakened by the crowing of a green cock that lived in the back yard of thePalace, and the cackling of a hen that had laid a green egg.

Chapter XII
The Search for the Wicked Witch

The soldier with the green whiskers led them through the streets of the EmeraldCity until they reached the room where the Guardian of the Gates lived. Thisofficer unlocked their spectacles to put them back in his great box, and thenhe politely opened the gate for our friends.

“Which road leads to the Wicked Witch of the West?” asked Dorothy.

“There is no road,” answered the Guardian of the Gates. “Noone ever wishes to go that way.”

“How, then, are we to find her?” inquired the girl.

“That will be easy,” replied the man, “for when she knows youare in the country of the Winkies she will find you, and make you all herslaves.”

“Perhaps not,” said the Scarecrow, “for we mean to destroyher.”

“Oh, that is different,” said the Guardian of the Gates. “Noone has ever destroyed her before, so I naturally thought she would make slavesof you, as she has of the rest. But take care; for she is wicked and fierce,and may not allow you to destroy her. Keep to the West, where the sun sets, andyou cannot fail to find her.”

They thanked him and bade him good-bye, and turned toward the West, walkingover fields of soft grass dotted here and there with daisies and buttercups.Dorothy still wore the pretty silk dress she had put on in the palace, but now,to her surprise, she found it was no longer green, but pure white. The ribbonaround Toto’s neck had also lost its green color and was as white asDorothy’s dress.

The Emerald City was soon left far behind. As they advanced the ground becamerougher and hillier, for there were no farms nor houses in this country of theWest, and the ground was untilled.

In the afternoon the sun shone hot in their faces, for there were no trees tooffer them shade; so that before night Dorothy and Toto and the Lion weretired, and lay down upon the grass and fell asleep, with the Woodman and theScarecrow keeping watch.

Now the Wicked Witch of the West had but one eye, yet that was as powerful as atelescope, and could see everywhere. So, as she sat in the door of her castle,she happened to look around and saw Dorothy lying asleep, with her friends allabout her. They were a long distance off, but the Wicked Witch was angry tofind them in her country; so she blew upon a silver whistle that hung aroundher neck.

At once there came running to her from all directions a pack of great wolves.They had long legs and fierce eyes and sharp teeth.

“Go to those people,” said the Witch, “and tear them topieces.”

“Are you not going to make them your slaves?” asked the leader ofthe wolves.

“No,” she answered, “one is of tin, and one of straw; one isa girl and another a Lion. None of them is fit to work, so you may tear theminto small pieces.”

“Very well,” said the wolf, and he dashed away at full speed,followed by the others.

It was lucky the Scarecrow and the Woodman were wide awake and heard the wolvescoming.

“This is my fight,” said the Woodman, “so get behind me and Iwill meet them as they come.”

He seized his axe, which he had made very sharp, and as the leader of thewolves came on the Tin Woodman swung his arm and chopped the wolf’s headfrom its body, so that it immediately died. As soon as he could raise his axeanother wolf came up, and he also fell under the sharp edge of the TinWoodman’s weapon. There were forty wolves, and forty times a wolf waskilled, so that at last they all lay dead in a heap before the Woodman.

Then he put down his axe and sat beside the Scarecrow, who said, “It wasa good fight, friend.”

They waited until Dorothy awoke the next morning. The little girl was quitefrightened when she saw the great pile of shaggy wolves, but the Tin Woodmantold her all. She thanked him for saving them and sat down to breakfast, afterwhich they started again upon their journey.

Now this same morning the Wicked Witch came to the door of her castle andlooked out with her one eye that could see far off. She saw all her wolveslying dead, and the strangers still traveling through her country. This madeher angrier than before, and she blew her silver whistle twice.

Straightway a great flock of wild crows came flying toward her, enough todarken the sky.

And the Wicked Witch said to the King Crow, “Fly at once to thestrangers; peck out their eyes and tear them to pieces.”

The wild crows flew in one great flock toward Dorothy and her companions. Whenthe little girl saw them coming she was afraid.

But the Scarecrow said, “This is my battle, so lie down beside me and youwill not be harmed.”

So they all lay upon the ground except the Scarecrow, and he stood up andstretched out his arms. And when the crows saw him they were frightened, asthese birds always are by scarecrows, and did not dare to come any nearer. Butthe King Crow said:

“It is only a stuffed man. I will peck his eyes out.”

The King Crow flew at the Scarecrow, who caught it by the head and twisted itsneck until it died. And then another crow flew at him, and the Scarecrowtwisted its neck also. There were forty crows, and forty times the Scarecrowtwisted a neck, until at last all were lying dead beside him. Then he called tohis companions to rise, and again they went upon their journey.

When the Wicked Witch looked out again and saw all her crows lying in a heap,she got into a terrible rage, and blew three times upon her silver whistle.

Forthwith there was heard a great buzzing in the air, and a swarm of black beescame flying toward her.

“Go to the strangers and sting them to death!” commanded the Witch,and the bees turned and flew rapidly until they came to where Dorothy and herfriends were walking. But the Woodman had seen them coming, and the Scarecrowhad decided what to do.

“Take out my straw and scatter it over the little girl and the dog andthe Lion,” he said to the Woodman, “and the bees cannot stingthem.” This the Woodman did, and as Dorothy lay close beside the Lion andheld Toto in her arms, the straw covered them entirely.

The bees came and found no one but the Woodman to sting, so they flew at himand broke off all their stings against the tin, without hurting the Woodman atall. And as bees cannot live when their stings are broken that was the end ofthe black bees, and they lay scattered thick about the Woodman, like littleheaps of fine coal.

Then Dorothy and the Lion got up, and the girl helped the Tin Woodman put thestraw back into the Scarecrow again, until he was as good as ever. So theystarted upon their journey once more.

The Wicked Witch was so angry when she saw her black bees in little heaps likefine coal that she stamped her foot and tore her hair and gnashed her teeth.And then she called a dozen of her slaves, who were the Winkies, and gave themsharp spears, telling them to go to the strangers and destroy them.

The Winkies were not a brave people, but they had to do as they were told. Sothey marched away until they came near to Dorothy. Then the Lion gave a greatroar and sprang towards them, and the poor Winkies were so frightened that theyran back as fast as they could.

When they returned to the castle the Wicked Witch beat them well with a strap,and sent them back to their work, after which she sat down to think what sheshould do next. She could not understand how all her plans to destroy thesestrangers had failed; but she was a powerful Witch, as well as a wicked one,and she soon made up her mind how to act.

There was, in her cupboard, a Golden Cap, with a circle of diamonds and rubiesrunning round it. This Golden Cap had a charm. Whoever owned it could callthree times upon the Winged Monkeys, who would obey any order they were given.But no person could command these strange creatures more than three times.Twice already the Wicked Witch had used the charm of the Cap. Once was when shehad made the Winkies her slaves, and set herself to rule over their country.The Winged Monkeys had helped her do this. The second time was when she hadfought against the Great Oz himself, and driven him out of the land of theWest. The Winged Monkeys had also helped her in doing this. Only once morecould she use this Golden Cap, for which reason she did not like to do so untilall her other powers were exhausted. But now that her fierce wolves and herwild crows and her stinging bees were gone, and her slaves had been scared awayby the Cowardly Lion, she saw there was only one way left to destroy Dorothyand her friends.

So the Wicked Witch took the Golden Cap from her cupboard and placed it uponher head. Then she stood upon her left foot and said, slowly:

“Ep-pe, pep-pe, kak-ke!”

Next she stood upon her right foot and said:

“Hil-lo, hol-lo, hel-lo!”

After this she stood upon both feet and cried in a loud voice:

“Ziz-zy, zuz-zy, zik!”

Now the charm began to work. The sky was darkened, and a low rumbling sound washeard in the air. There was a rushing of many wings, a great chattering andlaughing, and the sun came out of the dark sky to show the Wicked Witchsurrounded by a crowd of monkeys, each with a pair of immense and powerfulwings on his shoulders.

One, much bigger than the others, seemed to be their leader. He flew close tothe Witch and said, “You have called us for the third and last time. Whatdo you command?”

“Go to the strangers who are within my land and destroy them all exceptthe Lion,” said the Wicked Witch. “Bring that beast to me, for Ihave a mind to harness him like a horse, and make him work.”

“Your commands shall be obeyed,” said the leader. Then, with agreat deal of chattering and noise, the Winged Monkeys flew away to the placewhere Dorothy and her friends were walking.

Some of the Monkeys seized the Tin Woodman and carried him through the airuntil they were over a country thickly covered with sharp rocks. Here theydropped the poor Woodman, who fell a great distance to the rocks, where he layso battered and dented that he could neither move nor groan.

Others of the Monkeys caught the Scarecrow, and with their long fingers pulledall of the straw out of his clothes and head. They made his hat and boots andclothes into a small bundle and threw it into the top branches of a tall tree.

The remaining Monkeys threw pieces of stout rope around the Lion and wound manycoils about his body and head and legs, until he was unable to bite or scratchor struggle in any way. Then they lifted him up and flew away with him to theWitch’s castle, where he was placed in a small yard with a high ironfence around it, so that he could not escape.

But Dorothy they did not harm at all. She stood, with Toto in her arms,watching the sad fate of her comrades and thinking it would soon be her turn.The leader of the Winged Monkeys flew up to her, his long, hairy arms stretchedout and his ugly face grinning terribly; but he saw the mark of the GoodWitch’s kiss upon her forehead and stopped short, motioning the othersnot to touch her.

“We dare not harm this little girl,” he said to them, “forshe is protected by the Power of Good, and that is greater than the Power ofEvil. All we can do is to carry her to the castle of the Wicked Witch and leaveher there.”

So, carefully and gently, they lifted Dorothy in their arms and carried herswiftly through the air until they came to the castle, where they set her downupon the front doorstep. Then the leader said to the Witch:

“We have obeyed you as far as we were able. The Tin Woodman and theScarecrow are destroyed, and the Lion is tied up in your yard. The little girlwe dare not harm, nor the dog she carries in her arms. Your power over our bandis now ended, and you will never see us again.”

Then all the Winged Monkeys, with much laughing and chattering and noise, flewinto the air and were soon out of sight.

The Wicked Witch was both surprised and worried when she saw the mark onDorothy’s forehead, for she knew well that neither the Winged Monkeys norshe, herself, dare hurt the girl in any way. She looked down at Dorothy’sfeet, and seeing the Silver Shoes, began to tremble with fear, for she knewwhat a powerful charm belonged to them. At first the Witch was tempted to runaway from Dorothy; but she happened to look into the child’s eyes and sawhow simple the soul behind them was, and that the little girl did not know ofthe wonderful power the Silver Shoes gave her. So the Wicked Witch laughed toherself, and thought, “I can still make her my slave, for she does notknow how to use her power.” Then she said to Dorothy, harshly andseverely:

“Come with me; and see that you mind everything I tell you, for if you donot I will make an end of you, as I did of the Tin Woodman and theScarecrow.”

Dorothy followed her through many of the beautiful rooms in her castle untilthey came to the kitchen, where the Witch bade her clean the pots and kettlesand sweep the floor and keep the fire fed with wood.

Dorothy went to work meekly, with her mind made up to work as hard as shecould; for she was glad the Wicked Witch had decided not to kill her.

With Dorothy hard at work, the Witch thought she would go into the courtyardand harness the Cowardly Lion like a horse; it would amuse her, she was sure,to make him draw her chariot whenever she wished to go to drive. But as sheopened the gate the Lion gave a loud roar and bounded at her so fiercely thatthe Witch was afraid, and ran out and shut the gate again.

“If I cannot harness you,” said the Witch to the Lion, speakingthrough the bars of the gate, “I can starve you. You shall have nothingto eat until you do as I wish.”

So after that she took no food to the imprisoned Lion; but every day she cameto the gate at noon and asked, “Are you ready to be harnessed like ahorse?”

And the Lion would answer, “No. If you come in this yard, I will biteyou.”

The reason the Lion did not have to do as the Witch wished was that everynight, while the woman was asleep, Dorothy carried him food from the cupboard.After he had eaten he would lie down on his bed of straw, and Dorothy would liebeside him and put her head on his soft, shaggy mane, while they talked oftheir troubles and tried to plan some way to escape. But they could find no wayto get out of the castle, for it was constantly guarded by the yellow Winkies,who were the slaves of the Wicked Witch and too afraid of her not to do as shetold them.

The girl had to work hard during the day, and often the Witch threatened tobeat her with the same old umbrella she always carried in her hand. But, intruth, she did not dare to strike Dorothy, because of the mark upon herforehead. The child did not know this, and was full of fear for herself andToto. Once the Witch struck Toto a blow with her umbrella and the brave littledog flew at her and bit her leg in return. The Witch did not bleed where shewas bitten, for she was so wicked that the blood in her had dried up many yearsbefore.

Dorothy’s life became very sad as she grew to understand that it would beharder than ever to get back to Kansas and Aunt Em again. Sometimes she wouldcry bitterly for hours, with Toto sitting at her feet and looking into herface, whining dismally to show how sorry he was for his little mistress. Totodid not really care whether he was in Kansas or the Land of Oz so long asDorothy was with him; but he knew the little girl was unhappy, and that madehim unhappy too.

Now the Wicked Witch had a great longing to have for her own the Silver Shoeswhich the girl always wore. Her bees and her crows and her wolves were lying inheaps and drying up, and she had used up all the power of the Golden Cap; butif she could only get hold of the Silver Shoes, they would give her more powerthan all the other things she had lost. She watched Dorothy carefully, to seeif she ever took off her shoes, thinking she might steal them. But the childwas so proud of her pretty shoes that she never took them off except at nightand when she took her bath. The Witch was too much afraid of the dark to darego in Dorothy’s room at night to take the shoes, and her dread of waterwas greater than her fear of the dark, so she never came near when Dorothy wasbathing. Indeed, the old Witch never touched water, nor ever let water touchher in any way.

But the wicked creature was very cunning, and she finally thought of a trickthat would give her what she wanted. She placed a bar of iron in the middle ofthe kitchen floor, and then by her magic arts made the iron invisible to humaneyes. So that when Dorothy walked across the floor she stumbled over the bar,not being able to see it, and fell at full length. She was not much hurt, butin her fall one of the Silver Shoes came off; and before she could reach it,the Witch had snatched it away and put it on her own skinny foot.

The wicked woman was greatly pleased with the success of her trick, for as longas she had one of the shoes she owned half the power of their charm, andDorothy could not use it against her, even had she known how to do so.

The little girl, seeing she had lost one of her pretty shoes, grew angry, andsaid to the Witch, “Give me back my shoe!”

“I will not,” retorted the Witch, “for it is now my shoe, andnot yours.”

“You are a wicked creature!” cried Dorothy. “You have noright to take my shoe from me.”

“I shall keep it, just the same,” said the Witch, laughing at her,“and someday I shall get the other one from you, too.”

This made Dorothy so very angry that she picked up the bucket of water thatstood near and dashed it over the Witch, wetting her from head to foot.

Instantly the wicked woman gave a loud cry of fear, and then, as Dorothy lookedat her in wonder, the Witch began to shrink and fall away.

“See what you have done!” she screamed. “In a minute I shallmelt away.”

“I’m very sorry, indeed,” said Dorothy, who was trulyfrightened to see the Witch actually melting away like brown sugar before hervery eyes.

“Didn’t you know water would be the end of me?” asked theWitch, in a wailing, despairing voice.

“Of course not,” answered Dorothy. “How should I?”

“Well, in a few minutes I shall be all melted, and you will have thecastle to yourself. I have been wicked in my day, but I never thought a littlegirl like you would ever be able to melt me and end my wicked deeds. Lookout—here I go!”

With these words the Witch fell down in a brown, melted, shapeless mass andbegan to spread over the clean boards of the kitchen floor. Seeing that she hadreally melted away to nothing, Dorothy drew another bucket of water and threwit over the mess. She then swept it all out the door. After picking out thesilver shoe, which was all that was left of the old woman, she cleaned anddried it with a cloth, and put it on her foot again. Then, being at last freeto do as she chose, she ran out to the courtyard to tell the Lion that theWicked Witch of the West had come to an end, and that they were no longerprisoners in a strange land.

Chapter XIII
The Rescue

The Cowardly Lion was much pleased to hear that the Wicked Witch had beenmelted by a bucket of water, and Dorothy at once unlocked the gate of hisprison and set him free. They went in together to the castle, whereDorothy’s first act was to call all the Winkies together and tell themthat they were no longer slaves.

There was great rejoicing among the yellow Winkies, for they had been made towork hard during many years for the Wicked Witch, who had always treated themwith great cruelty. They kept this day as a holiday, then and ever after, andspent the time in feasting and dancing.

“If our friends, the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman, were only withus,” said the Lion, “I should be quite happy.”

“Don’t you suppose we could rescue them?” asked the girlanxiously.

“We can try,” answered the Lion.

So they called the yellow Winkies and asked them if they would help to rescuetheir friends, and the Winkies said that they would be delighted to do all intheir power for Dorothy, who had set them free from bondage. So she chose anumber of the Winkies who looked as if they knew the most, and they all startedaway. They traveled that day and part of the next until they came to the rockyplain where the Tin Woodman lay, all battered and bent. His axe was near him,but the blade was rusted and the handle broken off short.

The Winkies lifted him tenderly in their arms, and carried him back to theYellow Castle again, Dorothy shedding a few tears by the way at the sad plightof her old friend, and the Lion looking sober and sorry. When they reached thecastle Dorothy said to the Winkies:

“Are any of your people tinsmiths?”

“Oh, yes. Some of us are very good tinsmiths,” they told her.

“Then bring them to me,” she said. And when the tinsmiths came,bringing with them all their tools in baskets, she inquired, “Can youstraighten out those dents in the Tin Woodman, and bend him back into shapeagain, and solder him together where he is broken?”

The tinsmiths looked the Woodman over carefully and then answered that theythought they could mend him so he would be as good as ever. So they set to workin one of the big yellow rooms of the castle and worked for three days and fournights, hammering and twisting and bending and soldering and polishing andpounding at the legs and body and head of the Tin Woodman, until at last he wasstraightened out into his old form, and his joints worked as well as ever. Tobe sure, there were several patches on him, but the tinsmiths did a good job,and as the Woodman was not a vain man he did not mind the patches at all.

When, at last, he walked into Dorothy’s room and thanked her for rescuinghim, he was so pleased that he wept tears of joy, and Dorothy had to wipe everytear carefully from his face with her apron, so his joints would not be rusted.At the same time her own tears fell thick and fast at the joy of meeting herold friend again, and these tears did not need to be wiped away. As for theLion, he wiped his eyes so often with the tip of his tail that it became quitewet, and he was obliged to go out into the courtyard and hold it in the suntill it dried.

“If we only had the Scarecrow with us again,” said the Tin Woodman,when Dorothy had finished telling him everything that had happened, “Ishould be quite happy.”

“We must try to find him,” said the girl.

So she called the Winkies to help her, and they walked all that day and part ofthe next until they came to the tall tree in the branches of which the WingedMonkeys had tossed the Scarecrow’s clothes.

It was a very tall tree, and the trunk was so smooth that no one could climbit; but the Woodman said at once, “I’ll chop it down, and then wecan get the Scarecrow’s clothes.”

Now while the tinsmiths had been at work mending the Woodman himself, anotherof the Winkies, who was a goldsmith, had made an axe-handle of solid gold andfitted it to the Woodman’s axe, instead of the old broken handle. Otherspolished the blade until all the rust was removed and it glistened likeburnished silver.

As soon as he had spoken, the Tin Woodman began to chop, and in a short timethe tree fell over with a crash, whereupon the Scarecrow’s clothes fellout of the branches and rolled off on the ground.

Dorothy picked them up and had the Winkies carry them back to the castle, wherethey were stuffed with nice, clean straw; and behold! here was the Scarecrow,as good as ever, thanking them over and over again for saving him.

Now that they were reunited, Dorothy and her friends spent a few happy days atthe Yellow Castle, where they found everything they needed to make themcomfortable.

But one day the girl thought of Aunt Em, and said, “We must go back toOz, and claim his promise.”

“Yes,” said the Woodman, “at last I shall get myheart.”

“And I shall get my brains,” added the Scarecrow joyfully.

“And I shall get my courage,” said the Lion thoughtfully.

“And I shall get back to Kansas,” cried Dorothy, clapping herhands. “Oh, let us start for the Emerald City tomorrow!”

This they decided to do. The next day they called the Winkies together and badethem good-bye. The Winkies were sorry to have them go, and they had grown sofond of the Tin Woodman that they begged him to stay and rule over them and theYellow Land of the West. Finding they were determined to go, the Winkies gaveToto and the Lion each a golden collar; and to Dorothy they presented abeautiful bracelet studded with diamonds; and to the Scarecrow they gave agold-headed walking stick, to keep him from stumbling; and to the Tin Woodmanthey offered a silver oil-can, inlaid with gold and set with precious jewels.

Every one of the travelers made the Winkies a pretty speech in return, and allshook hands with them until their arms ached.

Dorothy went to the Witch’s cupboard to fill her basket with food for thejourney, and there she saw the Golden Cap. She tried it on her own head andfound that it fitted her exactly. She did not know anything about the charm ofthe Golden Cap, but she saw that it was pretty, so she made up her mind to wearit and carry her sunbonnet in the basket.

Then, being prepared for the journey, they all started for the Emerald City;and the Winkies gave them three cheers and many good wishes to carry with them.

Chapter XIV
The Winged Monkeys

You will remember there was no road—not even a pathway—between thecastle of the Wicked Witch and the Emerald City. When the four travelers wentin search of the Witch she had seen them coming, and so sent the Winged Monkeysto bring them to her. It was much harder to find their way back through the bigfields of buttercups and yellow daisies than it was being carried. They knew,of course, they must go straight east, toward the rising sun; and they startedoff in the right way. But at noon, when the sun was over their heads, they didnot know which was east and which was west, and that was the reason they werelost in the great fields. They kept on walking, however, and at night the mooncame out and shone brightly. So they lay down among the sweet smelling yellowflowers and slept soundly until morning—all but the Scarecrow and the TinWoodman.

The next morning the sun was behind a cloud, but they started on, as if theywere quite sure which way they were going.

“If we walk far enough,” said Dorothy, “I am sure we shallsometime come to some place.”

But day by day passed away, and they still saw nothing before them but thescarlet fields. The Scarecrow began to grumble a bit.

“We have surely lost our way,” he said, “and unless we findit again in time to reach the Emerald City, I shall never get my brains.”

“Nor I my heart,” declared the Tin Woodman. “It seems to me Ican scarcely wait till I get to Oz, and you must admit this is a very longjourney.”

“You see,” said the Cowardly Lion, with a whimper, “Ihaven’t the courage to keep tramping forever, without getting anywhere atall.”

Then Dorothy lost heart. She sat down on the grass and looked at hercompanions, and they sat down and looked at her, and Toto found that for thefirst time in his life he was too tired to chase a butterfly that flew past hishead. So he put out his tongue and panted and looked at Dorothy as if to askwhat they should do next.

“Suppose we call the field mice,” she suggested. “They couldprobably tell us the way to the Emerald City.”

“To be sure they could,” cried the Scarecrow. “Whydidn’t we think of that before?”

Dorothy blew the little whistle she had always carried about her neck since theQueen of the Mice had given it to her. In a few minutes they heard thepattering of tiny feet, and many of the small gray mice came running up to her.Among them was the Queen herself, who asked, in her squeaky little voice:

“What can I do for my friends?”

“We have lost our way,” said Dorothy. “Can you tell us wherethe Emerald City is?”

“Certainly,” answered the Queen; “but it is a great way off,for you have had it at your backs all this time.” Then she noticedDorothy’s Golden Cap, and said, “Why don’t you use the charmof the Cap, and call the Winged Monkeys to you? They will carry you to the Cityof Oz in less than an hour.”

“I didn’t know there was a charm,” answered Dorothy, insurprise. “What is it?”

“It is written inside the Golden Cap,” replied the Queen of theMice. “But if you are going to call the Winged Monkeys we must run away,for they are full of mischief and think it great fun to plague us.”

“Won’t they hurt me?” asked the girl anxiously.

“Oh, no. They must obey the wearer of the Cap. Good-bye!” And shescampered out of sight, with all the mice hurrying after her.

Dorothy looked inside the Golden Cap and saw some words written upon thelining. These, she thought, must be the charm, so she read the directionscarefully and put the Cap upon her head.

“Ep-pe, pep-pe, kak-ke!” she said, standing on her left foot.

“What did you say?” asked the Scarecrow, who did not know what shewas doing.

“Hil-lo, hol-lo, hel-lo!” Dorothy went on, standing this time onher right foot.

“Hello!” replied the Tin Woodman calmly.

“Ziz-zy, zuz-zy, zik!” said Dorothy, who was now standing on bothfeet. This ended the saying of the charm, and they heard a great chattering andflapping of wings, as the band of Winged Monkeys flew up to them.

The King bowed low before Dorothy, and asked, “What is yourcommand?”

“We wish to go to the Emerald City,” said the child, “and wehave lost our way.”

“We will carry you,” replied the King, and no sooner had he spokenthan two of the Monkeys caught Dorothy in their arms and flew away with her.Others took the Scarecrow and the Woodman and the Lion, and one little Monkeyseized Toto and flew after them, although the dog tried hard to bite him.

The Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman were rather frightened at first, for theyremembered how badly the Winged Monkeys had treated them before; but they sawthat no harm was intended, so they rode through the air quite cheerfully, andhad a fine time looking at the pretty gardens and woods far below them.

Dorothy found herself riding easily between two of the biggest Monkeys, one ofthem the King himself. They had made a chair of their hands and were carefulnot to hurt her.

“Why do you have to obey the charm of the Golden Cap?” she asked.

“That is a long story,” answered the King, with a winged laugh;“but as we have a long journey before us, I will pass the time by tellingyou about it, if you wish.”

“I shall be glad to hear it,” she replied.

“Once,” began the leader, “we were a free people, livinghappily in the great forest, flying from tree to tree, eating nuts and fruit,and doing just as we pleased without calling anybody master. Perhaps some of uswere rather too full of mischief at times, flying down to pull the tails of theanimals that had no wings, chasing birds, and throwing nuts at the people whowalked in the forest. But we were careless and happy and full of fun, andenjoyed every minute of the day. This was many years ago, long before Oz cameout of the clouds to rule over this land.

“There lived here then, away at the North, a beautiful princess, who wasalso a powerful sorceress. All her magic was used to help the people, and shewas never known to hurt anyone who was good. Her name was Gayelette, and shelived in a handsome palace built from great blocks of ruby. Everyone loved her,but her greatest sorrow was that she could find no one to love in return, sinceall the men were much too stupid and ugly to mate with one so beautiful andwise. At last, however, she found a boy who was handsome and manly and wisebeyond his years. Gayelette made up her mind that when he grew to be a man shewould make him her husband, so she took him to her ruby palace and used all hermagic powers to make him as strong and good and lovely as any woman could wish.When he grew to manhood, Quelala, as he was called, was said to be the best andwisest man in all the land, while his manly beauty was so great that Gayeletteloved him dearly, and hastened to make everything ready for the wedding.

“My grandfather was at that time the King of the Winged Monkeys whichlived in the forest near Gayelette’s palace, and the old fellow loved ajoke better than a good dinner. One day, just before the wedding, mygrandfather was flying out with his band when he saw Quelala walking beside theriver. He was dressed in a rich costume of pink silk and purple velvet, and mygrandfather thought he would see what he could do. At his word the band flewdown and seized Quelala, carried him in their arms until they were over themiddle of the river, and then dropped him into the water.

“‘Swim out, my fine fellow,’ cried my grandfather, ‘andsee if the water has spotted your clothes.’ Quelala was much too wise notto swim, and he was not in the least spoiled by all his good fortune. Helaughed, when he came to the top of the water, and swam in to shore. But whenGayelette came running out to him she found his silks and velvet all ruined bythe river.

“The princess was angry, and she knew, of course, who did it. She had allthe Winged Monkeys brought before her, and she said at first that their wingsshould be tied and they should be treated as they had treated Quelala, anddropped in the river. But my grandfather pleaded hard, for he knew the Monkeyswould drown in the river with their wings tied, and Quelala said a kind wordfor them also; so that Gayelette finally spared them, on condition that theWinged Monkeys should ever after do three times the bidding of the owner of theGolden Cap. This Cap had been made for a wedding present to Quelala, and it issaid to have cost the princess half her kingdom. Of course my grandfather andall the other Monkeys at once agreed to the condition, and that is how ithappens that we are three times the slaves of the owner of the Golden Cap,whosoever he may be.”

“And what became of them?” asked Dorothy, who had been greatlyinterested in the story.

“Quelala being the first owner of the Golden Cap,” replied theMonkey, “he was the first to lay his wishes upon us. As his bride couldnot bear the sight of us, he called us all to him in the forest after he hadmarried her and ordered us always to keep where she could never again set eyeson a Winged Monkey, which we were glad to do, for we were all afraid of her.

“This was all we ever had to do until the Golden Cap fell into the handsof the Wicked Witch of the West, who made us enslave the Winkies, and afterwarddrive Oz himself out of the Land of the West. Now the Golden Cap is yours, andthree times you have the right to lay your wishes upon us.”

As the Monkey King finished his story Dorothy looked down and saw the green,shining walls of the Emerald City before them. She wondered at the rapid flightof the Monkeys, but was glad the journey was over. The strange creatures setthe travelers down carefully before the gate of the City, the King bowed low toDorothy, and then flew swiftly away, followed by all his band.

“That was a good ride,” said the little girl.

“Yes, and a quick way out of our troubles,” replied the Lion.“How lucky it was you brought away that wonderful Cap!”

Chapter XV
The Discovery of Oz, the Terrible

The four travelers walked up to the great gate of Emerald City and rang thebell. After ringing several times, it was opened by the same Guardian of theGates they had met before.

“What! are you back again?” he asked, in surprise.

“Do you not see us?” answered the Scarecrow.

“But I thought you had gone to visit the Wicked Witch of the West.”

“We did visit her,” said the Scarecrow.

“And she let you go again?” asked the man, in wonder.

“She could not help it, for she is melted,” explained theScarecrow.

“Melted! Well, that is good news, indeed,” said the man. “Whomelted her?”

“It was Dorothy,” said the Lion gravely.

“Good gracious!” exclaimed the man, and he bowed very low indeedbefore her.

Then he led them into his little room and locked the spectacles from the greatbox on all their eyes, just as he had done before. Afterward they passed onthrough the gate into the Emerald City. When the people heard from the Guardianof the Gates that Dorothy had melted the Wicked Witch of the West, they allgathered around the travelers and followed them in a great crowd to the Palaceof Oz.

The soldier with the green whiskers was still on guard before the door, but helet them in at once, and they were again met by the beautiful green girl, whoshowed each of them to their old rooms at once, so they might rest until theGreat Oz was ready to receive them.

The soldier had the news carried straight to Oz that Dorothy and the othertravelers had come back again, after destroying the Wicked Witch; but Oz madeno reply. They thought the Great Wizard would send for them at once, but he didnot. They had no word from him the next day, nor the next, nor the next. Thewaiting was tiresome and wearing, and at last they grew vexed that Oz shouldtreat them in so poor a fashion, after sending them to undergo hardships andslavery. So the Scarecrow at last asked the green girl to take another messageto Oz, saying if he did not let them in to see him at once they would call theWinged Monkeys to help them, and find out whether he kept his promises or not.When the Wizard was given this message he was so frightened that he sent wordfor them to come to the Throne Room at four minutes after nine o’clockthe next morning. He had once met the Winged Monkeys in the Land of the West,and he did not wish to meet them again.

The four travelers passed a sleepless night, each thinking of the gift Oz hadpromised to bestow on him. Dorothy fell asleep only once, and then she dreamedshe was in Kansas, where Aunt Em was telling her how glad she was to have herlittle girl at home again.

Promptly at nine o’clock the next morning the green-whiskered soldiercame to them, and four minutes later they all went into the Throne Room of theGreat Oz.

Of course each one of them expected to see the Wizard in the shape he had takenbefore, and all were greatly surprised when they looked about and saw no one atall in the room. They kept close to the door and closer to one another, for thestillness of the empty room was more dreadful than any of the forms they hadseen Oz take.

Presently they heard a solemn Voice, that seemed to come from somewhere nearthe top of the great dome, and it said:

“I am Oz, the Great and Terrible. Why do you seek me?”

They looked again in every part of the room, and then, seeing no one, Dorothyasked, “Where are you?”

“I am everywhere,” answered the Voice, “but to the eyes ofcommon mortals I am invisible. I will now seat myself upon my throne, that youmay converse with me.” Indeed, the Voice seemed just then to comestraight from the throne itself; so they walked toward it and stood in a rowwhile Dorothy said:

“We have come to claim our promise, O Oz.”

“What promise?” asked Oz.

“You promised to send me back to Kansas when the Wicked Witch wasdestroyed,” said the girl.

“And you promised to give me brains,” said the Scarecrow.

“And you promised to give me a heart,” said the Tin Woodman.

“And you promised to give me courage,” said the Cowardly Lion.

“Is the Wicked Witch really destroyed?” asked the Voice, andDorothy thought it trembled a little.

“Yes,” she answered, “I melted her with a bucket ofwater.”

“Dear me,” said the Voice, “how sudden! Well, come to metomorrow, for I must have time to think it over.”

“You’ve had plenty of time already,” said the Tin Woodmanangrily.

“We shan’t wait a day longer,” said the Scarecrow.

“You must keep your promises to us!” exclaimed Dorothy.

The Lion thought it might be as well to frighten the Wizard, so he gave alarge, loud roar, which was so fierce and dreadful that Toto jumped away fromhim in alarm and tipped over the screen that stood in a corner. As it fell witha crash they looked that way, and the next moment all of them were filled withwonder. For they saw, standing in just the spot the screen had hidden, a littleold man, with a bald head and a wrinkled face, who seemed to be as muchsurprised as they were. The Tin Woodman, raising his axe, rushed toward thelittle man and cried out, “Who are you?”

“I am Oz, the Great and Terrible,” said the little man, in atrembling voice. “But don’t strike me—pleasedon’t—and I’ll do anything you want me to.”

Our friends looked at him in surprise and dismay.

“I thought Oz was a great Head,” said Dorothy.

“And I thought Oz was a lovely Lady,” said the Scarecrow.

“And I thought Oz was a terrible Beast,” said the Tin Woodman.

“And I thought Oz was a Ball of Fire,” exclaimed the Lion.

“No, you are all wrong,” said the little man meekly. “I havebeen making believe.”

“Making believe!” cried Dorothy. “Are you not a GreatWizard?”

“Hush, my dear,” he said. “Don’t speak so loud, or youwill be overheard—and I should be ruined. I’m supposed to be aGreat Wizard.”

“And aren’t you?” she asked.

“Not a bit of it, my dear; I’m just a common man.”

“You’re more than that,” said the Scarecrow, in a grievedtone; “you’re a humbug.”

“Exactly so!” declared the little man, rubbing his hands togetheras if it pleased him. “I am a humbug.”

“But this is terrible,” said the Tin Woodman. “How shall Iever get my heart?”

“Or I my courage?” asked the Lion.

“Or I my brains?” wailed the Scarecrow, wiping the tears from hiseyes with his coat sleeve.

“My dear friends,” said Oz, “I pray you not to speak of theselittle things. Think of me, and the terrible trouble I’m in at beingfound out.”

“Doesn’t anyone else know you’re a humbug?” askedDorothy.

“No one knows it but you four—and myself,” replied Oz.“I have fooled everyone so long that I thought I should never be foundout. It was a great mistake my ever letting you into the Throne Room. Usually Iwill not see even my subjects, and so they believe I am somethingterrible.”

“But, I don’t understand,” said Dorothy, in bewilderment.“How was it that you appeared to me as a great Head?”

“That was one of my tricks,” answered Oz. “Step this way,please, and I will tell you all about it.”

He led the way to a small chamber in the rear of the Throne Room, and they allfollowed him. He pointed to one corner, in which lay the great Head, made outof many thicknesses of paper, and with a carefully painted face.

“This I hung from the ceiling by a wire,” said Oz. “I stoodbehind the screen and pulled a thread, to make the eyes move and the mouthopen.”

“But how about the voice?” she inquired.

“Oh, I am a ventriloquist,” said the little man. “I can throwthe sound of my voice wherever I wish, so that you thought it was coming out ofthe Head. Here are the other things I used to deceive you.” He showed theScarecrow the dress and the mask he had worn when he seemed to be the lovelyLady. And the Tin Woodman saw that his terrible Beast was nothing but a lot ofskins, sewn together, with slats to keep their sides out. As for the Ball ofFire, the false Wizard had hung that also from the ceiling. It was really aball of cotton, but when oil was poured upon it the ball burned fiercely.

“Really,” said the Scarecrow, “you ought to be ashamed ofyourself for being such a humbug.”

“I am—I certainly am,” answered the little man sorrowfully;“but it was the only thing I could do. Sit down, please, there are plentyof chairs; and I will tell you my story.”

So they sat down and listened while he told the following tale.

“I was born in Omaha—”

“Why, that isn’t very far from Kansas!” cried Dorothy.

“No, but it’s farther from here,” he said, shaking his headat her sadly. “When I grew up I became a ventriloquist, and at that I wasvery well trained by a great master. I can imitate any kind of a bird orbeast.” Here he mewed so like a kitten that Toto pricked up his ears andlooked everywhere to see where she was. “After a time,” continuedOz, “I tired of that, and became a balloonist.”

“What is that?” asked Dorothy.

“A man who goes up in a balloon on circus day, so as to draw a crowd ofpeople together and get them to pay to see the circus,” he explained.

“Oh,” she said, “I know.”

“Well, one day I went up in a balloon and the ropes got twisted, so thatI couldn’t come down again. It went way up above the clouds, so far thata current of air struck it and carried it many, many miles away. For a day anda night I traveled through the air, and on the morning of the second day Iawoke and found the balloon floating over a strange and beautiful country.

“It came down gradually, and I was not hurt a bit. But I found myself inthe midst of a strange people, who, seeing me come from the clouds, thought Iwas a great Wizard. Of course I let them think so, because they were afraid ofme, and promised to do anything I wished them to.

“Just to amuse myself, and keep the good people busy, I ordered them tobuild this City, and my Palace; and they did it all willingly and well. Then Ithought, as the country was so green and beautiful, I would call it the EmeraldCity; and to make the name fit better I put green spectacles on all the people,so that everything they saw was green.”

“But isn’t everything here green?” asked Dorothy.

“No more than in any other city,” replied Oz; “but when youwear green spectacles, why of course everything you see looks green to you. TheEmerald City was built a great many years ago, for I was a young man when theballoon brought me here, and I am a very old man now. But my people have worngreen glasses on their eyes so long that most of them think it really is anEmerald City, and it certainly is a beautiful place, abounding in jewels andprecious metals, and every good thing that is needed to make one happy. I havebeen good to the people, and they like me; but ever since this Palace wasbuilt, I have shut myself up and would not see any of them.

“One of my greatest fears was the Witches, for while I had no magicalpowers at all I soon found out that the Witches were really able to dowonderful things. There were four of them in this country, and they ruled thepeople who live in the North and South and East and West. Fortunately, theWitches of the North and South were good, and I knew they would do me no harm;but the Witches of the East and West were terribly wicked, and had they notthought I was more powerful than they themselves, they would surely havedestroyed me. As it was, I lived in deadly fear of them for many years; so youcan imagine how pleased I was when I heard your house had fallen on the WickedWitch of the East. When you came to me, I was willing to promise anything ifyou would only do away with the other Witch; but, now that you have melted her,I am ashamed to say that I cannot keep my promises.”

“I think you are a very bad man,” said Dorothy.

“Oh, no, my dear; I’m really a very good man, but I’m a verybad Wizard, I must admit.”

“Can’t you give me brains?” asked the Scarecrow.

“You don’t need them. You are learning something every day. A babyhas brains, but it doesn’t know much. Experience is the only thing thatbrings knowledge, and the longer you are on earth the more experience you aresure to get.”

“That may all be true,” said the Scarecrow, “but I shall bevery unhappy unless you give me brains.”

The false Wizard looked at him carefully.

“Well,” he said with a sigh, “I’m not much of amagician, as I said; but if you will come to me tomorrow morning, I will stuffyour head with brains. I cannot tell you how to use them, however; you mustfind that out for yourself.”

“Oh, thank you—thank you!” cried the Scarecrow.“I’ll find a way to use them, never fear!”

“But how about my courage?” asked the Lion anxiously.

“You have plenty of courage, I am sure,” answered Oz. “Allyou need is confidence in yourself. There is no living thing that is not afraidwhen it faces danger. The True courage is in facing danger when you are afraid,and that kind of courage you have in plenty.”

“Perhaps I have, but I’m scared just the same,” said theLion. “I shall really be very unhappy unless you give me the sort ofcourage that makes one forget he is afraid.”

“Very well, I will give you that sort of courage tomorrow,” repliedOz.

“How about my heart?” asked the Tin Woodman.

“Why, as for that,” answered Oz, “I think you are wrong towant a heart. It makes most people unhappy. If you only knew it, you are inluck not to have a heart.”

“That must be a matter of opinion,” said the Tin Woodman.“For my part, I will bear all the unhappiness without a murmur, if youwill give me the heart.”

“Very well,” answered Oz meekly. “Come to me tomorrow and youshall have a heart. I have played Wizard for so many years that I may as wellcontinue the part a little longer.”

“And now,” said Dorothy, “how am I to get back toKansas?”

“We shall have to think about that,” replied the little man.“Give me two or three days to consider the matter and I’ll try tofind a way to carry you over the desert. In the meantime you shall all betreated as my guests, and while you live in the Palace my people will wait uponyou and obey your slightest wish. There is only one thing I ask in return formy help—such as it is. You must keep my secret and tell no one I am ahumbug.”

They agreed to say nothing of what they had learned, and went back to theirrooms in high spirits. Even Dorothy had hope that “The Great and TerribleHumbug,” as she called him, would find a way to send her back to Kansas,and if he did she was willing to forgive him everything.

Chapter XVI
The Magic Art of the Great Humbug

Next morning the Scarecrow said to his friends:

“Congratulate me. I am going to Oz to get my brains at last. When Ireturn I shall be as other men are.”

“I have always liked you as you were,” said Dorothy simply.

“It is kind of you to like a Scarecrow,” he replied. “Butsurely you will think more of me when you hear the splendid thoughts my newbrain is going to turn out.” Then he said good-bye to them all in acheerful voice and went to the Throne Room, where he rapped upon the door.

“Come in,” said Oz.

The Scarecrow went in and found the little man sitting down by the window,engaged in deep thought.

“I have come for my brains,” remarked the Scarecrow, a littleuneasily.

“Oh, yes; sit down in that chair, please,” replied Oz. “Youmust excuse me for taking your head off, but I shall have to do it in order toput your brains in their proper place.”

“That’s all right,” said the Scarecrow. “You are quitewelcome to take my head off, as long as it will be a better one when you put iton again.”

So the Wizard unfastened his head and emptied out the straw. Then he enteredthe back room and took up a measure of bran, which he mixed with a great manypins and needles. Having shaken them together thoroughly, he filled the top ofthe Scarecrow’s head with the mixture and stuffed the rest of the spacewith straw, to hold it in place.

When he had fastened the Scarecrow’s head on his body again he said tohim, “Hereafter you will be a great man, for I have given you a lot ofbran-new brains.”

The Scarecrow was both pleased and proud at the fulfillment of his greatestwish, and having thanked Oz warmly he went back to his friends.

Dorothy looked at him curiously. His head was quite bulged out at the top withbrains.

“How do you feel?” she asked.

“I feel wise indeed,” he answered earnestly. “When I get usedto my brains I shall know everything.”

“Why are those needles and pins sticking out of your head?” askedthe Tin Woodman.

“That is proof that he is sharp,” remarked the Lion.

“Well, I must go to Oz and get my heart,” said the Woodman. So hewalked to the Throne Room and knocked at the door.

“Come in,” called Oz, and the Woodman entered and said, “Ihave come for my heart.”

“Very well,” answered the little man. “But I shall have tocut a hole in your breast, so I can put your heart in the right place. I hopeit won’t hurt you.”

“Oh, no,” answered the Woodman. “I shall not feel it atall.”

So Oz brought a pair of tinsmith’s shears and cut a small, square hole inthe left side of the Tin Woodman’s breast. Then, going to a chest ofdrawers, he took out a pretty heart, made entirely of silk and stuffed withsawdust.

“Isn’t it a beauty?” he asked.

“It is, indeed!” replied the Woodman, who was greatly pleased.“But is it a kind heart?”

“Oh, very!” answered Oz. He put the heart in the Woodman’sbreast and then replaced the square of tin, soldering it neatly together whereit had been cut.

“There,” said he; “now you have a heart that any man might beproud of. I’m sorry I had to put a patch on your breast, but it reallycouldn’t be helped.”

“Never mind the patch,” exclaimed the happy Woodman. “I amvery grateful to you, and shall never forget your kindness.”

“Don’t speak of it,” replied Oz.

Then the Tin Woodman went back to his friends, who wished him every joy onaccount of his good fortune.

The Lion now walked to the Throne Room and knocked at the door.

“Come in,” said Oz.

“I have come for my courage,” announced the Lion, entering theroom.

“Very well,” answered the little man; “I will get it foryou.”

He went to a cupboard and reaching up to a high shelf took down a square greenbottle, the contents of which he poured into a green-gold dish, beautifullycarved. Placing this before the Cowardly Lion, who sniffed at it as if he didnot like it, the Wizard said:

“Drink.”

“What is it?” asked the Lion.

“Well,” answered Oz, “if it were inside of you, it would becourage. You know, of course, that courage is always inside one; so that thisreally cannot be called courage until you have swallowed it. Therefore I adviseyou to drink it as soon as possible.”

The Lion hesitated no longer, but drank till the dish was empty.

“How do you feel now?” asked Oz.

“Full of courage,” replied the Lion, who went joyfully back to hisfriends to tell them of his good fortune.

Oz, left to himself, smiled to think of his success in giving the Scarecrow andthe Tin Woodman and the Lion exactly what they thought they wanted. “Howcan I help being a humbug,” he said, “when all these people make medo things that everybody knows can’t be done? It was easy to make theScarecrow and the Lion and the Woodman happy, because they imagined I could doanything. But it will take more than imagination to carry Dorothy back toKansas, and I’m sure I don’t know how it can be done.”

Chapter XVII
How the Balloon Was Launched

For three days Dorothy heard nothing from Oz. These were sad days for thelittle girl, although her friends were all quite happy and contented. TheScarecrow told them there were wonderful thoughts in his head; but he would notsay what they were because he knew no one could understand them but himself.When the Tin Woodman walked about he felt his heart rattling around in hisbreast; and he told Dorothy he had discovered it to be a kinder and more tenderheart than the one he had owned when he was made of flesh. The Lion declared hewas afraid of nothing on earth, and would gladly face an army or a dozen of thefierce Kalidahs.

Thus each of the little party was satisfied except Dorothy, who longed morethan ever to get back to Kansas.

On the fourth day, to her great joy, Oz sent for her, and when she entered theThrone Room he greeted her pleasantly:

“Sit down, my dear; I think I have found the way to get you out of thiscountry.”

“And back to Kansas?” she asked eagerly.

“Well, I’m not sure about Kansas,” said Oz, “for Ihaven’t the faintest notion which way it lies. But the first thing to dois to cross the desert, and then it should be easy to find your wayhome.”

“How can I cross the desert?” she inquired.

“Well, I’ll tell you what I think,” said the little man.“You see, when I came to this country it was in a balloon. You also camethrough the air, being carried by a cyclone. So I believe the best way to getacross the desert will be through the air. Now, it is quite beyond my powers tomake a cyclone; but I’ve been thinking the matter over, and I believe Ican make a balloon.”

“How?” asked Dorothy.

“A balloon,” said Oz, “is made of silk, which is coated withglue to keep the gas in it. I have plenty of silk in the Palace, so it will beno trouble to make the balloon. But in all this country there is no gas to fillthe balloon with, to make it float.”

“If it won’t float,” remarked Dorothy, “it will be ofno use to us.”

“True,” answered Oz. “But there is another way to make itfloat, which is to fill it with hot air. Hot air isn’t as good as gas,for if the air should get cold the balloon would come down in the desert, andwe should be lost.”

“We!” exclaimed the girl. “Are you going with me?”

“Yes, of course,” replied Oz. “I am tired of being such ahumbug. If I should go out of this Palace my people would soon discover I amnot a Wizard, and then they would be vexed with me for having deceived them. SoI have to stay shut up in these rooms all day, and it gets tiresome. I’dmuch rather go back to Kansas with you and be in a circus again.”

“I shall be glad to have your company,” said Dorothy.

“Thank you,” he answered. “Now, if you will help me sew thesilk together, we will begin to work on our balloon.”

So Dorothy took a needle and thread, and as fast as Oz cut the strips of silkinto proper shape the girl sewed them neatly together. First there was a stripof light green silk, then a strip of dark green and then a strip of emeraldgreen; for Oz had a fancy to make the balloon in different shades of the colorabout them. It took three days to sew all the strips together, but when it wasfinished they had a big bag of green silk more than twenty feet long.

Then Oz painted it on the inside with a coat of thin glue, to make it airtight,after which he announced that the balloon was ready.

“But we must have a basket to ride in,” he said. So he sent thesoldier with the green whiskers for a big clothes basket, which he fastenedwith many ropes to the bottom of the balloon.

When it was all ready, Oz sent word to his people that he was going to make avisit to a great brother Wizard who lived in the clouds. The news spreadrapidly throughout the city and everyone came to see the wonderful sight.

Oz ordered the balloon carried out in front of the Palace, and the people gazedupon it with much curiosity. The Tin Woodman had chopped a big pile of wood,and now he made a fire of it, and Oz held the bottom of the balloon over thefire so that the hot air that arose from it would be caught in the silken bag.Gradually the balloon swelled out and rose into the air, until finally thebasket just touched the ground.

Then Oz got into the basket and said to all the people in a loud voice:

“I am now going away to make a visit. While I am gone the Scarecrow willrule over you. I command you to obey him as you would me.”

The balloon was by this time tugging hard at the rope that held it to theground, for the air within it was hot, and this made it so much lighter inweight than the air without that it pulled hard to rise into the sky.

“Come, Dorothy!” cried the Wizard. “Hurry up, or the balloonwill fly away.”

“I can’t find Toto anywhere,” replied Dorothy, who did notwish to leave her little dog behind. Toto had run into the crowd to bark at akitten, and Dorothy at last found him. She picked him up and ran towards theballoon.

She was within a few steps of it, and Oz was holding out his hands to help herinto the basket, when, crack! went the ropes, and the balloon rose into the airwithout her.

“Come back!” she screamed. “I want to go, too!”

“I can’t come back, my dear,” called Oz from the basket.“Good-bye!”

“Good-bye!” shouted everyone, and all eyes were turned upward towhere the Wizard was riding in the basket, rising every moment farther andfarther into the sky.

And that was the last any of them ever saw of Oz, the Wonderful Wizard, thoughhe may have reached Omaha safely, and be there now, for all we know. But thepeople remembered him lovingly, and said to one another:

“Oz was always our friend. When he was here he built for us thisbeautiful Emerald City, and now he is gone he has left the Wise Scarecrow torule over us.”

Still, for many days they grieved over the loss of the Wonderful Wizard, andwould not be comforted.

Chapter XVIII
Away to the South

Dorothy wept bitterly at the passing of her hope to get home to Kansas again;but when she thought it all over she was glad she had not gone up in a balloon.And she also felt sorry at losing Oz, and so did her companions.

The Tin Woodman came to her and said:

“Truly I should be ungrateful if I failed to mourn for the man who gaveme my lovely heart. I should like to cry a little because Oz is gone, if youwill kindly wipe away my tears, so that I shall not rust.”

“With pleasure,” she answered, and brought a towel at once. Thenthe Tin Woodman wept for several minutes, and she watched the tears carefullyand wiped them away with the towel. When he had finished, he thanked her kindlyand oiled himself thoroughly with his jeweled oil-can, to guard against mishap.

The Scarecrow was now the ruler of the Emerald City, and although he was not aWizard the people were proud of him. “For,” they said, “thereis not another city in all the world that is ruled by a stuffed man.”And, so far as they knew, they were quite right.

The morning after the balloon had gone up with Oz, the four travelers met inthe Throne Room and talked matters over. The Scarecrow sat in the big throneand the others stood respectfully before him.

“We are not so unlucky,” said the new ruler, “for this Palaceand the Emerald City belong to us, and we can do just as we please. When Iremember that a short time ago I was up on a pole in a farmer’scornfield, and that now I am the ruler of this beautiful City, I am quitesatisfied with my lot.”

“I also,” said the Tin Woodman, “am well-pleased with my newheart; and, really, that was the only thing I wished in all the world.”

“For my part, I am content in knowing I am as brave as any beast thatever lived, if not braver,” said the Lion modestly.

“If Dorothy would only be contented to live in the Emerald City,”continued the Scarecrow, “we might all be happy together.”

“But I don’t want to live here,” cried Dorothy. “I wantto go to Kansas, and live with Aunt Em and Uncle Henry.”

“Well, then, what can be done?” inquired the Woodman.

The Scarecrow decided to think, and he thought so hard that the pins andneedles began to stick out of his brains. Finally he said:

“Why not call the Winged Monkeys, and ask them to carry you over thedesert?”

“I never thought of that!” said Dorothy joyfully. “It’sjust the thing. I’ll go at once for the Golden Cap.”

When she brought it into the Throne Room she spoke the magic words, and soonthe band of Winged Monkeys flew in through the open window and stood besideher.

“This is the second time you have called us,” said the Monkey King,bowing before the little girl. “What do you wish?”

“I want you to fly with me to Kansas,” said Dorothy.

But the Monkey King shook his head.

“That cannot be done,” he said. “We belong to this countryalone, and cannot leave it. There has never been a Winged Monkey in Kansas yet,and I suppose there never will be, for they don’t belong there. We shallbe glad to serve you in any way in our power, but we cannot cross the desert.Good-bye.”

And with another bow, the Monkey King spread his wings and flew away throughthe window, followed by all his band.

Dorothy was ready to cry with disappointment. “I have wasted the charm ofthe Golden Cap to no purpose,” she said, “for the Winged Monkeyscannot help me.”

“It is certainly too bad!” said the tender-hearted Woodman.

The Scarecrow was thinking again, and his head bulged out so horribly thatDorothy feared it would burst.

“Let us call in the soldier with the green whiskers,” he said,“and ask his advice.”

So the soldier was summoned and entered the Throne Room timidly, for while Ozwas alive he never was allowed to come farther than the door.

“This little girl,” said the Scarecrow to the soldier,“wishes to cross the desert. How can she do so?”

“I cannot tell,” answered the soldier, “for nobody has evercrossed the desert, unless it is Oz himself.”

“Is there no one who can help me?” asked Dorothy earnestly.

“Glinda might,” he suggested.

“Who is Glinda?” inquired the Scarecrow.

“The Witch of the South. She is the most powerful of all the Witches, andrules over the Quadlings. Besides, her castle stands on the edge of the desert,so she may know a way to cross it.”

“Glinda is a Good Witch, isn’t she?” asked the child.

“The Quadlings think she is good,” said the soldier, “and sheis kind to everyone. I have heard that Glinda is a beautiful woman, who knowshow to keep young in spite of the many years she has lived.”

“How can I get to her castle?” asked Dorothy.

“The road is straight to the South,” he answered, “but it issaid to be full of dangers to travelers. There are wild beasts in the woods,and a race of queer men who do not like strangers to cross their country. Forthis reason none of the Quadlings ever come to the Emerald City.”

The soldier then left them and the Scarecrow said:

“It seems, in spite of dangers, that the best thing Dorothy can do is totravel to the Land of the South and ask Glinda to help her. For, of course, ifDorothy stays here she will never get back to Kansas.”

“You must have been thinking again,” remarked the Tin Woodman.

“I have,” said the Scarecrow.

“I shall go with Dorothy,” declared the Lion, “for I am tiredof your city and long for the woods and the country again. I am really a wildbeast, you know. Besides, Dorothy will need someone to protect her.”

“That is true,” agreed the Woodman. “My axe may be of serviceto her; so I also will go with her to the Land of the South.”

“When shall we start?” asked the Scarecrow.

“Are you going?” they asked, in surprise.

“Certainly. If it wasn’t for Dorothy I should never have hadbrains. She lifted me from the pole in the cornfield and brought me to theEmerald City. So my good luck is all due to her, and I shall never leave heruntil she starts back to Kansas for good and all.”

“Thank you,” said Dorothy gratefully. “You are all very kindto me. But I should like to start as soon as possible.”

“We shall go tomorrow morning,” returned the Scarecrow. “Sonow let us all get ready, for it will be a long journey.”

Chapter XIX
Attacked by the Fighting Trees

The next morning Dorothy kissed the pretty green girl good-bye, and they allshook hands with the soldier with the green whiskers, who had walked with themas far as the gate. When the Guardian of the Gate saw them again he wonderedgreatly that they could leave the beautiful City to get into new trouble. Buthe at once unlocked their spectacles, which he put back into the green box, andgave them many good wishes to carry with them.

“You are now our ruler,” he said to the Scarecrow; “so youmust come back to us as soon as possible.”

“I certainly shall if I am able,” the Scarecrow replied; “butI must help Dorothy to get home, first.”

As Dorothy bade the good-natured Guardian a last farewell she said:

“I have been very kindly treated in your lovely City, and everyone hasbeen good to me. I cannot tell you how grateful I am.”

“Don’t try, my dear,” he answered. “We should like tokeep you with us, but if it is your wish to return to Kansas, I hope you willfind a way.” He then opened the gate of the outer wall, and they walkedforth and started upon their journey.

The sun shone brightly as our friends turned their faces toward the Land of theSouth. They were all in the best of spirits, and laughed and chatted together.Dorothy was once more filled with the hope of getting home, and the Scarecrowand the Tin Woodman were glad to be of use to her. As for the Lion, he sniffedthe fresh air with delight and whisked his tail from side to side in pure joyat being in the country again, while Toto ran around them and chased the mothsand butterflies, barking merrily all the time.

“City life does not agree with me at all,” remarked the Lion, asthey walked along at a brisk pace. “I have lost much flesh since I livedthere, and now I am anxious for a chance to show the other beasts howcourageous I have grown.”

They now turned and took a last look at the Emerald City. All they could seewas a mass of towers and steeples behind the green walls, and high up aboveeverything the spires and dome of the Palace of Oz.

“Oz was not such a bad Wizard, after all,” said the Tin Woodman, ashe felt his heart rattling around in his breast.

“He knew how to give me brains, and very good brains, too,” saidthe Scarecrow.

“If Oz had taken a dose of the same courage he gave me,” added theLion, “he would have been a brave man.”

Dorothy said nothing. Oz had not kept the promise he made her, but he had donehis best, so she forgave him. As he said, he was a good man, even if he was abad Wizard.

The first day’s journey was through the green fields and bright flowersthat stretched about the Emerald City on every side. They slept that night onthe grass, with nothing but the stars over them; and they rested very wellindeed.

In the morning they traveled on until they came to a thick wood. There was noway of going around it, for it seemed to extend to the right and left as far asthey could see; and, besides, they did not dare change the direction of theirjourney for fear of getting lost. So they looked for the place where it wouldbe easiest to get into the forest.

The Scarecrow, who was in the lead, finally discovered a big tree with suchwide-spreading branches that there was room for the party to pass underneath.So he walked forward to the tree, but just as he came under the first branchesthey bent down and twined around him, and the next minute he was raised fromthe ground and flung headlong among his fellow travelers.

This did not hurt the Scarecrow, but it surprised him, and he looked ratherdizzy when Dorothy picked him up.

“Here is another space between the trees,” called the Lion.

“Let me try it first,” said the Scarecrow, “for itdoesn’t hurt me to get thrown about.” He walked up to another tree,as he spoke, but its branches immediately seized him and tossed him back again.

“This is strange,” exclaimed Dorothy. “What shall wedo?”

“The trees seem to have made up their minds to fight us, and stop ourjourney,” remarked the Lion.

“I believe I will try it myself,” said the Woodman, and shoulderinghis axe, he marched up to the first tree that had handled the Scarecrow soroughly. When a big branch bent down to seize him the Woodman chopped at it sofiercely that he cut it in two. At once the tree began shaking all its branchesas if in pain, and the Tin Woodman passed safely under it.

“Come on!” he shouted to the others. “Be quick!” Theyall ran forward and passed under the tree without injury, except Toto, who wascaught by a small branch and shaken until he howled. But the Woodman promptlychopped off the branch and set the little dog free.

The other trees of the forest did nothing to keep them back, so they made uptheir minds that only the first row of trees could bend down their branches,and that probably these were the policemen of the forest, and given thiswonderful power in order to keep strangers out of it.

The four travelers walked with ease through the trees until they came to thefarther edge of the wood. Then, to their surprise, they found before them ahigh wall which seemed to be made of white china. It was smooth, like thesurface of a dish, and higher than their heads.

“What shall we do now?” asked Dorothy.

“I will make a ladder,” said the Tin Woodman, “for wecertainly must climb over the wall.”

Chapter XX
The Dainty China Country

While the Woodman was making a ladder from wood which he found in the forestDorothy lay down and slept, for she was tired by the long walk. The Lion alsocurled himself up to sleep and Toto lay beside him.

The Scarecrow watched the Woodman while he worked, and said to him:

“I cannot think why this wall is here, nor what it is made of.”

“Rest your brains and do not worry about the wall,” replied theWoodman. “When we have climbed over it, we shall know what is on theother side.”

After a time the ladder was finished. It looked clumsy, but the Tin Woodman wassure it was strong and would answer their purpose. The Scarecrow waked Dorothyand the Lion and Toto, and told them that the ladder was ready. The Scarecrowclimbed up the ladder first, but he was so awkward that Dorothy had to followclose behind and keep him from falling off. When he got his head over the topof the wall the Scarecrow said, “Oh, my!”

“Go on,” exclaimed Dorothy.

So the Scarecrow climbed farther up and sat down on the top of the wall, andDorothy put her head over and cried, “Oh, my!” just as theScarecrow had done.

Then Toto came up, and immediately began to bark, but Dorothy made him bestill.

The Lion climbed the ladder next, and the Tin Woodman came last; but both ofthem cried, “Oh, my!” as soon as they looked over the wall. Whenthey were all sitting in a row on the top of the wall, they looked down and sawa strange sight.

Before them was a great stretch of country having a floor as smooth and shiningand white as the bottom of a big platter. Scattered around were many housesmade entirely of china and painted in the brightest colors. These houses werequite small, the biggest of them reaching only as high as Dorothy’swaist. There were also pretty little barns, with china fences around them; andmany cows and sheep and horses and pigs and chickens, all made of china, werestanding about in groups.

But the strangest of all were the people who lived in this queer country. Therewere milkmaids and shepherdesses, with brightly colored bodices and goldenspots all over their gowns; and princesses with most gorgeous frocks of silverand gold and purple; and shepherds dressed in knee breeches with pink andyellow and blue stripes down them, and golden buckles on their shoes; andprinces with jeweled crowns upon their heads, wearing ermine robes and satindoublets; and funny clowns in ruffled gowns, with round red spots upon theircheeks and tall, pointed caps. And, strangest of all, these people were allmade of china, even to their clothes, and were so small that the tallest ofthem was no higher than Dorothy’s knee.

No one did so much as look at the travelers at first, except one little purplechina dog with an extra-large head, which came to the wall and barked at themin a tiny voice, afterwards running away again.

“How shall we get down?” asked Dorothy.

They found the ladder so heavy they could not pull it up, so the Scarecrow felloff the wall and the others jumped down upon him so that the hard floor wouldnot hurt their feet. Of course they took pains not to light on his head and getthe pins in their feet. When all were safely down they picked up the Scarecrow,whose body was quite flattened out, and patted his straw into shape again.

“We must cross this strange place in order to get to the otherside,” said Dorothy, “for it would be unwise for us to go any otherway except due South.”

They began walking through the country of the china people, and the first thingthey came to was a china milkmaid milking a china cow. As they drew near, thecow suddenly gave a kick and kicked over the stool, the pail, and even themilkmaid herself, and all fell on the china ground with a great clatter.

Dorothy was shocked to see that the cow had broken her leg off, and that thepail was lying in several small pieces, while the poor milkmaid had a nick inher left elbow.

“There!” cried the milkmaid angrily. “See what you have done!My cow has broken her leg, and I must take her to the mender’s shop andhave it glued on again. What do you mean by coming here and frightening mycow?”

“I’m very sorry,” returned Dorothy. “Please forgiveus.”

But the pretty milkmaid was much too vexed to make any answer. She picked upthe leg sulkily and led her cow away, the poor animal limping on three legs. Asshe left them the milkmaid cast many reproachful glances over her shoulder atthe clumsy strangers, holding her nicked elbow close to her side.

Dorothy was quite grieved at this mishap.

“We must be very careful here,” said the kind-hearted Woodman,“or we may hurt these pretty little people so they will never get overit.”

A little farther on Dorothy met a most beautifully dressed young Princess, whostopped short as she saw the strangers and started to run away.

Dorothy wanted to see more of the Princess, so she ran after her. But the chinagirl cried out:

“Don’t chase me! Don’t chase me!”

She had such a frightened little voice that Dorothy stopped and said,“Why not?”

“Because,” answered the Princess, also stopping, a safe distanceaway, “if I run I may fall down and break myself.”

“But could you not be mended?” asked the girl.

“Oh, yes; but one is never so pretty after being mended, you know,”replied the Princess.

“I suppose not,” said Dorothy.

“Now there is Mr. Joker, one of our clowns,” continued the chinalady, “who is always trying to stand upon his head. He has broken himselfso often that he is mended in a hundred places, and doesn’t look at allpretty. Here he comes now, so you can see for yourself.”

Indeed, a jolly little clown came walking toward them, and Dorothy could seethat in spite of his pretty clothes of red and yellow and green he wascompletely covered with cracks, running every which way and showing plainlythat he had been mended in many places.

The Clown put his hands in his pockets, and after puffing out his cheeks andnodding his head at them saucily, he said:

    “My lady fair,
   Why do you stare
At poor old Mr. Joker?
    You’re quite as stiff
    And prim as if
You’d eaten up a poker!”

“Be quiet, sir!” said the Princess. “Can’t you seethese are strangers, and should be treated with respect?”

“Well, that’s respect, I expect,” declared the Clown, andimmediately stood upon his head.

“Don’t mind Mr. Joker,” said the Princess to Dorothy.“He is considerably cracked in his head, and that makes himfoolish.”

“Oh, I don’t mind him a bit,” said Dorothy. “But youare so beautiful,” she continued, “that I am sure I could love youdearly. Won’t you let me carry you back to Kansas, and stand you on AuntEm’s mantel? I could carry you in my basket.”

“That would make me very unhappy,” answered the china Princess.“You see, here in our country we live contentedly, and can talk and movearound as we please. But whenever any of us are taken away our joints at oncestiffen, and we can only stand straight and look pretty. Of course that is allthat is expected of us when we are on mantels and cabinets and drawing-roomtables, but our lives are much pleasanter here in our own country.”

“I would not make you unhappy for all the world!” exclaimedDorothy. “So I’ll just say good-bye.”

“Good-bye,” replied the Princess.

They walked carefully through the china country. The little animals and all thepeople scampered out of their way, fearing the strangers would break them, andafter an hour or so the travelers reached the other side of the country andcame to another china wall.

It was not so high as the first, however, and by standing upon the Lion’sback they all managed to scramble to the top. Then the Lion gathered his legsunder him and jumped on the wall; but just as he jumped, he upset a chinachurch with his tail and smashed it all to pieces.

“That was too bad,” said Dorothy, “but really I think we werelucky in not doing these little people more harm than breaking a cow’sleg and a church. They are all so brittle!”

“They are, indeed,” said the Scarecrow, “and I am thankful Iam made of straw and cannot be easily damaged. There are worse things in theworld than being a Scarecrow.”

Chapter XXI
The Lion Becomes the King of Beasts

After climbing down from the china wall the travelers found themselves in adisagreeable country, full of bogs and marshes and covered with tall, rankgrass. It was difficult to walk without falling into muddy holes, for the grasswas so thick that it hid them from sight. However, by carefully picking theirway, they got safely along until they reached solid ground. But here thecountry seemed wilder than ever, and after a long and tiresome walk through theunderbrush they entered another forest, where the trees were bigger and olderthan any they had ever seen.

“This forest is perfectly delightful,” declared the Lion, lookingaround him with joy. “Never have I seen a more beautiful place.”

“It seems gloomy,” said the Scarecrow.

“Not a bit of it,” answered the Lion. “I should like to livehere all my life. See how soft the dried leaves are under your feet and howrich and green the moss is that clings to these old trees. Surely no wild beastcould wish a pleasanter home.”

“Perhaps there are wild beasts in the forest now,” said Dorothy.

“I suppose there are,” returned the Lion, “but I do not seeany of them about.”

They walked through the forest until it became too dark to go any farther.Dorothy and Toto and the Lion lay down to sleep, while the Woodman and theScarecrow kept watch over them as usual.

When morning came, they started again. Before they had gone far they heard alow rumble, as of the growling of many wild animals. Toto whimpered a little,but none of the others was frightened, and they kept along the well-troddenpath until they came to an opening in the wood, in which were gathered hundredsof beasts of every variety. There were tigers and elephants and bears andwolves and foxes and all the others in the natural history, and for a momentDorothy was afraid. But the Lion explained that the animals were holding ameeting, and he judged by their snarling and growling that they were in greattrouble.

As he spoke several of the beasts caught sight of him, and at once the greatassemblage hushed as if by magic. The biggest of the tigers came up to the Lionand bowed, saying:

“Welcome, O King of Beasts! You have come in good time to fight our enemyand bring peace to all the animals of the forest once more.”

“What is your trouble?” asked the Lion quietly.

“We are all threatened,” answered the tiger, “by a fierceenemy which has lately come into this forest. It is a most tremendous monster,like a great spider, with a body as big as an elephant and legs as long as atree trunk. It has eight of these long legs, and as the monster crawls throughthe forest he seizes an animal with a leg and drags it to his mouth, where heeats it as a spider does a fly. Not one of us is safe while this fiercecreature is alive, and we had called a meeting to decide how to take care ofourselves when you came among us.”

The Lion thought for a moment.

“Are there any other lions in this forest?” he asked.

“No; there were some, but the monster has eaten them all. And, besides,they were none of them nearly so large and brave as you.”

“If I put an end to your enemy, will you bow down to me and obey me asKing of the Forest?” inquired the Lion.

“We will do that gladly,” returned the tiger; and all the otherbeasts roared with a mighty roar: “We will!”

“Where is this great spider of yours now?” asked the Lion.

“Yonder, among the oak trees,” said the tiger, pointing with hisforefoot.

“Take good care of these friends of mine,” said the Lion,“and I will go at once to fight the monster.”

He bade his comrades good-bye and marched proudly away to do battle with theenemy.

The great spider was lying asleep when the Lion found him, and it looked sougly that its foe turned up his nose in disgust. Its legs were quite as long asthe tiger had said, and its body covered with coarse black hair. It had a greatmouth, with a row of sharp teeth a foot long; but its head was joined to thepudgy body by a neck as slender as a wasp’s waist. This gave the Lion ahint of the best way to attack the creature, and as he knew it was easier tofight it asleep than awake, he gave a great spring and landed directly upon themonster’s back. Then, with one blow of his heavy paw, all armed withsharp claws, he knocked the spider’s head from its body. Jumping down, hewatched it until the long legs stopped wiggling, when he knew it was quitedead.

The Lion went back to the opening where the beasts of the forest were waitingfor him and said proudly:

“You need fear your enemy no longer.”

Then the beasts bowed down to the Lion as their King, and he promised to comeback and rule over them as soon as Dorothy was safely on her way to Kansas.

Chapter XXII
The Country of the Quadlings

The four travelers passed through the rest of the forest in safety, and whenthey came out from its gloom saw before them a steep hill, covered from top tobottom with great pieces of rock.

“That will be a hard climb,” said the Scarecrow, “but we mustget over the hill, nevertheless.”

So he led the way and the others followed. They had nearly reached the firstrock when they heard a rough voice cry out, “Keep back!”

“Who are you?” asked the Scarecrow.

Then a head showed itself over the rock and the same voice said, “Thishill belongs to us, and we don’t allow anyone to cross it.”

“But we must cross it,” said the Scarecrow. “We’regoing to the country of the Quadlings.”

“But you shall not!” replied the voice, and there stepped frombehind the rock the strangest man the travelers had ever seen.

He was quite short and stout and had a big head, which was flat at the top andsupported by a thick neck full of wrinkles. But he had no arms at all, and,seeing this, the Scarecrow did not fear that so helpless a creature couldprevent them from climbing the hill. So he said, “I’m sorry not todo as you wish, but we must pass over your hill whether you like it ornot,” and he walked boldly forward.

As quick as lightning the man’s head shot forward and his neck stretchedout until the top of the head, where it was flat, struck the Scarecrow in themiddle and sent him tumbling, over and over, down the hill. Almost as quicklyas it came the head went back to the body, and the man laughed harshly as hesaid, “It isn’t as easy as you think!”

A chorus of boisterous laughter came from the other rocks, and Dorothy sawhundreds of the armless Hammer-Heads upon the hillside, one behind every rock.

The Lion became quite angry at the laughter caused by the Scarecrow’smishap, and giving a loud roar that echoed like thunder, he dashed up the hill.

Again a head shot swiftly out, and the great Lion went rolling down the hill asif he had been struck by a cannon ball.

Dorothy ran down and helped the Scarecrow to his feet, and the Lion came up toher, feeling rather bruised and sore, and said, “It is useless to fightpeople with shooting heads; no one can withstand them.”

“What can we do, then?” she asked.

“Call the Winged Monkeys,” suggested the Tin Woodman. “Youhave still the right to command them once more.”

“Very well,” she answered, and putting on the Golden Cap sheuttered the magic words. The Monkeys were as prompt as ever, and in a fewmoments the entire band stood before her.

“What are your commands?” inquired the King of the Monkeys, bowinglow.

“Carry us over the hill to the country of the Quadlings,” answeredthe girl.

“It shall be done,” said the King, and at once the Winged Monkeyscaught the four travelers and Toto up in their arms and flew away with them. Asthey passed over the hill the Hammer-Heads yelled with vexation, and shot theirheads high in the air, but they could not reach the Winged Monkeys, whichcarried Dorothy and her comrades safely over the hill and set them down in thebeautiful country of the Quadlings.

“This is the last time you can summon us,” said the leader toDorothy; “so good-bye and good luck to you.”

“Good-bye, and thank you very much,” returned the girl; and theMonkeys rose into the air and were out of sight in a twinkling.

The country of the Quadlings seemed rich and happy. There was field upon fieldof ripening grain, with well-paved roads running between, and pretty ripplingbrooks with strong bridges across them. The fences and houses and bridges wereall painted bright red, just as they had been painted yellow in the country ofthe Winkies and blue in the country of the Munchkins. The Quadlings themselves,who were short and fat and looked chubby and good-natured, were dressed all inred, which showed bright against the green grass and the yellowing grain.

The Monkeys had set them down near a farmhouse, and the four travelers walkedup to it and knocked at the door. It was opened by the farmer’s wife, andwhen Dorothy asked for something to eat the woman gave them all a good dinner,with three kinds of cake and four kinds of cookies, and a bowl of milk forToto.

“How far is it to the Castle of Glinda?” asked the child.

“It is not a great way,” answered the farmer’s wife.“Take the road to the South and you will soon reach it.”

Thanking the good woman, they started afresh and walked by the fields andacross the pretty bridges until they saw before them a very beautiful Castle.Before the gates were three young girls, dressed in handsome red uniformstrimmed with gold braid; and as Dorothy approached, one of them said to her:

“Why have you come to the South Country?”

“To see the Good Witch who rules here,” she answered. “Willyou take me to her?”

“Let me have your name, and I will ask Glinda if she will receiveyou.” They told who they were, and the girl soldier went into the Castle.After a few moments she came back to say that Dorothy and the others were to beadmitted at once.

Chapter XXIII
Glinda The Good Witch Grants Dorothy’s Wish

Before they went to see Glinda, however, they were taken to a room of theCastle, where Dorothy washed her face and combed her hair, and the Lion shookthe dust out of his mane, and the Scarecrow patted himself into his best shape,and the Woodman polished his tin and oiled his joints.

When they were all quite presentable they followed the soldier girl into a bigroom where the Witch Glinda sat upon a throne of rubies.

She was both beautiful and young to their eyes. Her hair was a rich red incolor and fell in flowing ringlets over her shoulders. Her dress was pure whitebut her eyes were blue, and they looked kindly upon the little girl.

“What can I do for you, my child?” she asked.

Dorothy told the Witch all her story: how the cyclone had brought her to theLand of Oz, how she had found her companions, and of the wonderful adventuresthey had met with.

“My greatest wish now,” she added, “is to get back to Kansas,for Aunt Em will surely think something dreadful has happened to me, and thatwill make her put on mourning; and unless the crops are better this year thanthey were last, I am sure Uncle Henry cannot afford it.”

Glinda leaned forward and kissed the sweet, upturned face of the loving littlegirl.

“Bless your dear heart,” she said, “I am sure I can tell youof a way to get back to Kansas.” Then she added, “But, if I do, youmust give me the Golden Cap.”

“Willingly!” exclaimed Dorothy; “indeed, it is of no use tome now, and when you have it you can command the Winged Monkeys threetimes.”

“And I think I shall need their service just those three times,”answered Glinda, smiling.

Dorothy then gave her the Golden Cap, and the Witch said to the Scarecrow,“What will you do when Dorothy has left us?”

“I will return to the Emerald City,” he replied, “for Oz hasmade me its ruler and the people like me. The only thing that worries me is howto cross the hill of the Hammer-Heads.”

“By means of the Golden Cap I shall command the Winged Monkeys to carryyou to the gates of the Emerald City,” said Glinda, “for it wouldbe a shame to deprive the people of so wonderful a ruler.”

“Am I really wonderful?” asked the Scarecrow.

“You are unusual,” replied Glinda.

Turning to the Tin Woodman, she asked, “What will become of you whenDorothy leaves this country?”

He leaned on his axe and thought a moment. Then he said, “The Winkieswere very kind to me, and wanted me to rule over them after the Wicked Witchdied. I am fond of the Winkies, and if I could get back again to the Country ofthe West, I should like nothing better than to rule over them forever.”

“My second command to the Winged Monkeys,” said Glinda “willbe that they carry you safely to the land of the Winkies. Your brain may not beso large to look at as those of the Scarecrow, but you are really brighter thanhe is—when you are well polished—and I am sure you will rule theWinkies wisely and well.”

Then the Witch looked at the big, shaggy Lion and asked, “When Dorothyhas returned to her own home, what will become of you?”

“Over the hill of the Hammer-Heads,” he answered, “lies agrand old forest, and all the beasts that live there have made me their King.If I could only get back to this forest, I would pass my life very happilythere.”

“My third command to the Winged Monkeys,” said Glinda, “shallbe to carry you to your forest. Then, having used up the powers of the GoldenCap, I shall give it to the King of the Monkeys, that he and his band maythereafter be free for evermore.”

The Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman and the Lion now thanked the Good Witchearnestly for her kindness; and Dorothy exclaimed:

“You are certainly as good as you are beautiful! But you have not yettold me how to get back to Kansas.”

“Your Silver Shoes will carry you over the desert,” replied Glinda.“If you had known their power you could have gone back to your Aunt Emthe very first day you came to this country.”

“But then I should not have had my wonderful brains!” cried theScarecrow. “I might have passed my whole life in the farmer’scornfield.”

“And I should not have had my lovely heart,” said the Tin Woodman.“I might have stood and rusted in the forest till the end of theworld.”

“And I should have lived a coward forever,” declared the Lion,“and no beast in all the forest would have had a good word to say tome.”

“This is all true,” said Dorothy, “and I am glad I was of useto these good friends. But now that each of them has had what he most desired,and each is happy in having a kingdom to rule besides, I think I should like togo back to Kansas.”

“The Silver Shoes,” said the Good Witch, “have wonderfulpowers. And one of the most curious things about them is that they can carryyou to any place in the world in three steps, and each step will be made in thewink of an eye. All you have to do is to knock the heels together three timesand command the shoes to carry you wherever you wish to go.”

“If that is so,” said the child joyfully, “I will ask them tocarry me back to Kansas at once.”

She threw her arms around the Lion’s neck and kissed him, patting his bighead tenderly. Then she kissed the Tin Woodman, who was weeping in a way mostdangerous to his joints. But she hugged the soft, stuffed body of the Scarecrowin her arms instead of kissing his painted face, and found she was cryingherself at this sorrowful parting from her loving comrades.

Glinda the Good stepped down from her ruby throne to give the little girl agood-bye kiss, and Dorothy thanked her for all the kindness she had shown toher friends and herself.

Dorothy now took Toto up solemnly in her arms, and having said one lastgood-bye she clapped the heels of her shoes together three times, saying:

“Take me home to Aunt Em!”

Instantly she was whirling through the air, so swiftly that all she could seeor feel was the wind whistling past her ears.

The Silver Shoes took but three steps, and then she stopped so suddenly thatshe rolled over upon the grass several times before she knew where she was.

At length, however, she sat up and looked about her.

“Good gracious!” she cried.

For she was sitting on the broad Kansas prairie, and just before her was thenew farmhouse Uncle Henry built after the cyclone had carried away the old one.Uncle Henry was milking the cows in the barnyard, and Toto had jumped out ofher arms and was running toward the barn, barking furiously.

Dorothy stood up and found she was in her stocking-feet. For the Silver Shoeshad fallen off in her flight through the air, and were lost forever in thedesert.

Chapter XXIV
Home Again

Aunt Em had just come out of the house to water the cabbages when she looked upand saw Dorothy running toward her.

“My darling child!” she cried, folding the little girl in her armsand covering her face with kisses. “Where in the world did you comefrom?”

“From the Land of Oz,” said Dorothy gravely. “And here isToto, too. And oh, Aunt Em! I’m so glad to be at home again!”

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