The Wizard of Oz Page 3

  CHAPTER TEN

  The Rescue

  The Wicked Witch saw the mark on Dorothy’s forehead and the silver shoes. She trembled with fear, for she knew they had a powerful charm in them. Then the Witch realized that Dorothy did not know how to use the power she had.

  “Come with me,” the Wicked Witch of the West said to Dorothy.

  Dorothy followed the Witch to the Castle kitchen. The Wicked Witch ordered her to clean the pots and kettles and sweep the floor.

  It so happened that the Wicked Witch wanted the silver shoes for herself. But Dorothy never took them off except to sleep and when she took her bath.

  The Witch was too afraid of the dark to go in Dorothy’s room at night, and her fear of water was greater than her fear of the dark. Indeed, the old Witch never let water touch her in any way.

  Days and nights passed. Finally, the Witch thought of a trick that would give her what she wanted. She placed an iron bar in the middle of the kitchen floor. Then she made the iron invisible.

  Dorothy walked across the floor and stumbled over the bar. She was not hurt, but one of the silver shoes came off. The Witch snatched it up.

  In a fit of anger, Dorothy picked up a bucket of water and threw it over the Witch.

  The Witch gave a cry, and then she began to shrink!

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

  “I’m very sorry,” said Dorothy, which perhaps she was.

  “Didn’t you know water would be the end of me?” wailed the Witch. “Soon I shall be all melted and you will have the Castle to yourself! Look out—here I go!”

  With these words the Witch became a brown shapeless mass. Dorothy filled another bucket with water and threw it over the mess. Then she swept it all out the door.

  Dorothy picked up her silver shoe, cleaned it, and put it on her foot again. Then she ran to tell the Lion that they were no longer prisoners.

  Not only was the Cowardly Lion happy about the melting of the Wicked Witch, but so were the Winkies. The Winkies were the people who lived in the Land of the West. The Wicked Witch had never been nice to them.

  “If the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman were with us, I would be quite happy,” the Lion told Dorothy.

  “Do you suppose we could rescue them?” asked Dorothy.

  “We can try,” answered the Lion.

  The Winkies were delighted to help Dorothy in any way they could. They traveled all over their land until they found the battered Tin Woodman. They carried him back to the castle.

  There, Winkie tinsmiths worked for three days and four nights. They hammered and twisted and pounded and polished. Finally, the tin man was all fixed!

  The Tin Woodman was so pleased that he wept tears of joy. Dorothy had to wipe every tear with her apron so his joints would not be rusted.

  “If we only had the Scarecrow with us,” said the Tin Woodman, “I would be quite happy.”

  The Winkies searched all over the land until they found the Scarecrow’s clothes in a tall tree.

  “I’ll chop the tree down,” said the Tin Woodman when the Winkies told him.

  In a short time the tree fell. Dorothy picked up the Scarecrow’s clothes. The Winkies carried them back to the Castle. They stuffed the clothes with nice, clean straw. And behold! The Scarecrow was as good as ever!

  “And now we must go back to Oz and get our rewards,” said Dorothy.

  Dorothy went to the Witch’s cupboard to fill her basket with food for the journey. There she saw the Golden Cap. She tried it on and it fitted her exactly. So she made up her mind to wear it.

  Dorothy and her friends said good-bye to the Winkies, and they all started for the Emerald City. The Winkies gave them three cheers and many good wishes.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  The Winged Monkeys

  You may remember that there was no road between the Castle of the Wicked Witch and the Emerald City. The Winged Monkeys had brought Dorothy and the Lion to the Castle.

  “We have surely lost our way,” the Scarecrow said after they had been walking for a while.

  Dorothy looked inside the Golden Cap. There she saw some words on the Cap’s lining. Now she knew what to do. Dorothy put the Cap back on. She said the same words that the Wicked Witch had used:

  “Ep-pe, pep-pe, kak-ke!

  Hil-lo, hol-lo, hel-lo!

  Ziz-zy, zuz-zy, zik!”

  The sound of wings filled the air, and the band of Winged Monkeys landed before them.

  The leader bowed low to Dorothy. “What is your command?” he asked.

  “We wish to go to the Emerald City,” said Dorothy.

  No sooner had she spoken than two of the Monkeys caught her in their arms. More Monkeys carried the Scarecrow and the Woodman and the Lion. One little Monkey picked up Toto and flew after them.

  In no time, Dorothy looked down and saw the shining green walls of the Emerald City. The Monkeys set the travelers down carefully before the gate, and flew off as fast as they had appeared.

  Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Lion walked up and rang the bell. The Guardian of the Gates opened the gate. As before, he gave them spectacles before taking them through the gate and on to the Palace of Oz.

  The soldier with the green beard was still there. He had the news of their return carried straight to Oz, but Oz made no reply. There was no word from him the next day, or the next.

  At last, the Scarecrow asked the soldier to take another message to Oz. It said that if he did not see them, they would call on the Winged Monkeys to help them.

  The Wizard sent word for them to come to the Throne Room the very next morning.

  After they arrived at the Throne Room, Dorothy and her friends were surprised when they saw no one. Presently they heard a Voice. It seemed to come from somewhere near the ceiling.

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

  “We have come to claim your promise,” said Dorothy.

  “Is the Wicked Witch really destroyed?” asked the Voice.

  “Yes,” Dorothy answered. “I melted her with a bucket of water.”

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

  At this, the Lion gave a roar so fierce that Toto jumped away in alarm. He tipped over a screen that stood in a corner. The screen fell over with a crash.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  The Discovery of Oz the Terrible

  Behind the fallen screen was a little old man with a bald head and a wrinkled face. He looked as surprised as they were.

  “Who are you?” the Tin Woodman cried.

  “I am Oz, the Great and Terrible,” said the little man in a trembling voice.

  “Aren’t you a Great Wizard?” asked Dorothy.

  “Hush,” said the little man. “Don’t speak so loud or you will be overheard. I’m supposed to be a Great Wizard.”

  “But aren’t you one really?” Dorothy asked again.

  “Not a bit,” the man replied sadly. “I’m just a common man.”

  “You’re more than that,” said the Scarecrow. “You’re a humbug.”

  “Exactly so!” agreed the little man. “I am a humbug.”

  “But,” said Dorothy, “I don’t understand. How did you appear as a great Head?”

  “That was one of my tricks,” answered Oz. “Step this way and I will show you.”

  He led them to a small chamber in the back of the Throne Room. In one corner lay the great Head. It was made out of paper.

  “I hung this from the ceiling by a wire,” said Oz. “Then I stood behind the screen and pulled a thread to make the eyes move and the mouth open, like a puppet.”

  “But how about the voice?” Dorothy asked.

  “I am a ventriloquist,” said the little man. “I can throw the sound of my voice wherever I wish.”

  Next he showed them the dress and the mask he had worn when he was the lovely Lady that the
Scarecrow saw. The Tin Woodman’s terrible Beast was nothing but animal skins sewn together. As for the Ball of Fire, it was just a ball of cotton with oil that was poured on it and lit with a match.

  “Really,” said the Scarecrow, “you ought to be ashamed of yourself.”

  “I am—I certainly am,” answered the little man. “But it was the only thing I could do. Sit down and I will tell you my story.”

  So they sat down and listened while he told the following tale. “I was born in Omaha—” the little man started.

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

  “When I grew up, I became a ventriloquist,” Oz went on. “After a time, I tired of that. I became a balloonist.

  “One day I went up in a balloon and the ropes got twisted. I couldn’t come down. The balloon went way up above the clouds. For a day and a night, I traveled through the air. When I awoke, the balloon was floating over a strange and beautiful country.

  “The balloon came down, and the people here thought I was a great wizard and wanted me to be their leader.

  “I had them build this city. Then I thought that as the country is so green, I would call it the Emerald City. To make the name fit even better, I had everyone wear green spectacles, so that everything they see is green.”

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

  “No more than in any other city,” replied Oz. “But when you wear green spectacles, of course everything looks green!

  “I have been good to the people, and they like me. One of my only fears has been the Witches. The Witches of the North and South are good, but the Witches of the East and West were terribly wicked. So you can imagine how pleased I was when I heard your house had fallen on the Wicked Witch of the East.

  “When you came to me, Dorothy, I was willing to promise anything if you would only do away with the other Wicked Witch. And you succeeded! However, I am ashamed to say that I cannot keep my promises.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  The Truth

  Dorothy and her friends looked at the little man in shock.

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

  “Truthfully, you don’t need brains,” Oz told him. “You are learning something every day.”

  “That may be true,” said the Scarecrow. “But I shall be very unhappy unless you give me brains.”

  The false Wizard looked at him. “Well,” he said with a sigh, “I’m not much of a magician. But if you will come to me tomorrow morning, I will stuff your head with brains.”

  “Oh, thank you—thank you!” cried the Scarecrow.

  “What about my courage?” asked the Lion.

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

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

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

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

  “You are wrong to want a heart,” answered Oz. “It makes most people unhappy. But come to me tomorrow.”

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

  “We shall have to think about that,” replied the little man. “Give me two or three days to consider the matter. I’ll try to find a way to carry you over the desert. There is only one thing I ask in return. You must keep my secret.”

  They all agreed and went back to their rooms in high spirits. Even Dorothy had hope that the humbug would find a way to send her back to Kansas. If he did, she was willing to forgive him everything.

  Next morning the Scarecrow went to the Throne Room and rapped upon the door.

  “Come in,” called Oz.

  “I have come for my brains,” said the Scarecrow.

  “Sit down in that chair,” Oz told him. The Wizard unfastened the Scarecrow’s head. He emptied out the straw. He went into a back room and made a mixture of bran and pins and needles.

  The Wizard filled the top of the Scarecrow’s head with the mixture. Then he stuffed the rest of the space with straw to hold it in place.

  When he replaced the Scarecrow’s head on his body, the Scarecrow was pleased. He thanked Oz and went back to his friends.

  Dorothy looked at the Scarecrow curiously. “How do you feel?” she asked.

  “I feel wise, indeed,” he answered.

  “Now I will go and get my heart,” said the Woodman.

  In the Throne Room, Oz cut a small square in the left side of the Tin Woodman’s chest. Then he fetched a red silk heart stuffed with sawdust. Oz put the heart in the Woodman’s chest and replaced the square of tin. He soldered it together.

  “There,” said Oz. “Now you have a heart that any man might be proud of.”

  “I am very grateful!” exclaimed the Woodman, and went back to his friends.

  Now the Lion went to the Throne Room for courage.

  Oz went to a cupboard and took down a green bottle. He gave it to the Cowardly Lion and bade him drink.

  The Lion drank until the bottle was empty.

  “How do you feel?” asked Oz.

  “Full of courage,” replied the Lion. He went joyfully back to his friends.

  Oz smiled. “How can I help being a humbug,” he said to himself, “when people make me do things that everybody knows can’t be done? But it will take more than imagination to carry Dorothy back to Kansas.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  How the Balloon Was Launched

  Dorothy waited for three days.

  On the fourth day, Oz sent for her. When she went into the Throne Room, he said, “I think I have found the way to get you out of this country.”

  “How?” asked Dorothy.

  “A balloon,” said Oz. “We will fill it with hot air to make it carry us.”

  “Us!” exclaimed Dorothy. “Are you going with me?”

  “Yes, of course,” replied Oz. “I am tired of being a humbug. I’d much rather go back to Kansas. If you will help me sew the silk together, we will begin to work on our balloon.”

  Oz cut strips of silk and Dorothy sewed them together. When it was all finished, they had a big bag of green silk: a balloon!

  Oz sent the soldier with the green beard for a big clothes basket. He fastened it to the bottom of the balloon.

  Soldiers carried the balloon to the front of the Palace. The people looked at it with curiosity. The Tin Woodman chopped a big pile of wood at the front of the Palace as well. Now the wood was lit.

  The balloon was held over the fire. Hot air filled the silk bag. The balloon swelled. It rose until the basket just touched the ground.

  Then Oz climbed into the basket. “I am going away for a visit,” he said to all the people. “While I am gone, the Scarecrow will rule over you.”

  The balloon tugged at the ropes that held it to the ground.

  “Come, Dorothy!” cried the Wizard. “Hurry up, or the balloon will fly away.”

  But Toto had run into the crowd after a kitten, and Dorothy had run after him! At last, she scooped up the little dog and ran toward the balloon. She was only a few steps away when—crack! The ropes broke.

  The balloon rose into the air.

  “Come back!” Dorothy screamed. “I want to go, too!”

  “I can’t come back,” called Oz from the basket. “Good-bye!”

  “Good-bye!” everyone shouted.

  That was the last anyone saw of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

  Dorothy wept bitterly because she could not get home to Kansas again.

  The next morning, Dorothy met her three friends in the Throne Room.

  “We are not so unlucky,” said the new ruler of the Emerald City, the Scarecrow. “This Palace and the Emerald City b
elong to us. We can do as we please.”

  “But I don’t want to live here,” said Dorothy. “I want to live with Aunt Em and Uncle Henry in Kansas!”

  “Well, then, what can be done?” asked the Woodman.

  “Let us ask the soldier with the green beard,” the Scarecrow said.

  So the soldier was summoned.

  “This little girl,” said the Scarecrow, “wishes to cross the desert.”

  “Is there no one who can help me?” asked Dorothy.

  “Glinda can help you,” the soldier said. “She is the Witch of the South, the most powerful of all the Witches. Her Castle stands on the edge of the desert.”

  “How can I get to her Castle?” asked Dorothy.

  “The road is straight to the south,” he answered. “Glinda lives in the Land of the Quadlings.”

  “I shall go with Dorothy,” declared the Lion.

  “So shall I,” said the Tin Woodman.

  “When do we start?” asked the Scarecrow.

  “You are all very kind,” said Dorothy. “I would like to go as soon as possible!”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Away to the South

  The sun shone brightly the next day. The four companions turned their faces toward the Land of the South. They were in the best of spirits. Dorothy was once more filled with the hope of getting home.

  The first day’s journey was through the green fields that stretched about the Emerald City. They slept that night on the grass with the stars over them.

  In the morning they traveled on. Soon they came to a thick wood that was so huge, there was no way of going around it. They looked for a place to enter the forest.

  Finally, the Scarecrow discovered a big tree with such wide branches that they could pass underneath. But when he walked under the tree, the branches bent down, lifted him up, and threw him back to the others!