Oz 04: Dorthy and the Wizard in Oz by L. Frank Baum
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can tell whether there_are any oats in_this queer country or not . if_there_are, they_are liable to_be glass oats ! "

"Oh, no ! " exclaimed Dorothy ." I_can_see plenty of nice gardens and fields down below us, at_the edge of_this city . but i_wish we_could find a way to_get to_the ground ."

" why don't you walk down ? " asked eureka ."I'm as hungry as_the horse is, and i_want my milk ."

" will_you try it, Zeb" asked the girl, turning to her companion .

Zeb hesitated . he_was still pale and frightened, for_this dreadful adventure had upset him and made him nervous and worried . but he_did_not wish the little girl to_think him a coward, so he advanced slowly to_the edge of_the roof .

Dorothy stretched out a hand to him and Zeb put one foot out and let it rest in_the air a little over the edge of_the roof . it seemed firm enough to walk upon, so he_took courage and put out the other foot . Dorothy kept hold of_his hand and followed him, and soon they were both walking through_the air, with_the kitten frisking beside them .

" come on, Jim ! " called the boy ." it's all right ."

Jim had crept to_the edge of_the roof to look over, and being a sensible horse and quite experienced, he_made up his mind that he_could go where the others did . so, with a snort and aneigh and a whisk of_his short tail he trotted off the roof into_the air and at once began floating downward to_the street . his great weight made him fall faster than_the children walked, and he passed them on_the way down; but when he_came to_the glass pavement he alighted upon it so softly that he_was not even jarred .

" well, well ! " said Dorothy, drawing a long breath, " what a strange country this_is ."

people began to_come out_of_the glass doors to look at_the new arrivals, and pretty soon quite a crowd had assembled . there were men_and_women, but no children at all, and_the folks were all beautifully formed and attractively dressed and had wonderfully handsome faces . there_was not an ugly person in all the throng, yet Dorothy was not especially pleased by_the appearance of_these people because their features had no more expression than_the faces of dolls . they_did_not smile nor did they frown, or show either fear or surprise or curiosity or friendliness . they simply started at_the strangers, paying most attention to Jim and eureka, for they had never before seen either a horse or acat and_the children bore an outward resemblance to themselves .

pretty soon a man joined the group who wore aglistening star in_the dark hair just over his forehead . he_seemed to_be a person of authority, for_the others pressed back to_give him room . after turning his composed eyes first upon_the animals and then upon_the children he_said to Zeb, who was a little taller than Dorothy:

" tell me, intruder, was_it you who caused the rain of Stones ? "

for a moment the boy did_not know what he meant by_this question . then, remembering the stones that had fallen with_them and passed them long before_they had reached this place, he answered:

" no, sir; we didn't cause anything . it was_the earthquake ."

the man with_the star stood for a time quietly thinking over this speech . then he asked:

" what_is an earthquake ? "

"I don't know," said Zeb, who was still confused . but Dorothy, seeing his perplexity, answered:

" it's ashaking of_the earth . in_this quake a big crack opened and we fell through-- horse and buggy, and all-- and_the stones got loose and came down with_us ."

the man with_the star regarded her with_his calm, expressionless eyes .

" the rain of Stones has_done much damage to our city," he_said; " and we_shall hold you responsible for_it unless you_can prove your innocence ."

" how can we do_that ? " asked the girl .

" that I_am not prepared to_say . it_is your affair, not mine . you_must go to_the house of_the sorcerer, who_will soon discover the truth ."

" where is_the house of_the sorcerer ? " the girl enquired .

" i_will lead you to_it . come ! "

he turned and walked down the street, and after a moment's hesitation Dorothy caught eureka in her arms and climbed into_the buggy . the boy took his seat beside her and said: "Gid-dap Jim ."

as_the horse ambled along, drawing the buggy, the people of_the glass city made way for_them and formed a procession in their rear . slowly they moved down one street and up another, turning first this_way and then that, until they came to an open square in_the center of which_was a big glass palace having a central dome and four tall spires on each corner .

3 . the arrival of_the wizard

the doorway of_the glass palace was quite big enough for_the horse and buggy to enter, so Zeb drove straight through it and_the children found themselves in a lofty hall that was very beautiful . the people at once followed and formed a circle around the sides of_the spacious room, leaving the horse and buggy and_the man with_the star to occupy the center of_the hall .

" come to_us, oh, Gwig ! " called the man, in a loud voice .

instantly a cloud of smoke appeared and rolled over the floor; then it slowly spread and ascended into_the dome, disclosing a strange personage seated upon a glass throne just before Jim's nose . he_was formed just as were the other inhabitants of_this land and_his clothing only differed from theirs in being bright yellow . but he had no hair at all, and all over his bald head and face and upon_the backs of_his hands grew sharp thorns like those found on_the branches of rose-bushes . there_was even a thorn upon_the tip of_his nose and he looked so funny that Dorothy laughed when she saw him .

the sorcerer, hearing the laugh, looked toward the little girl with cold, cruel eyes, and_his glance made her grow sober in an instant .

" why have_you dared to intrude your unwelcome persons into_the secluded land of_the Mangaboos ? " he asked, sternly .

"' cause we couldn't help it," said Dorothy .

" why did you wickedly and viciously send the rain of Stones to crack and break our houses ? " he continued .

" we didn't," declared the girl .

" prove it ! " cried the sorcerer .

" we don't have to_prove it," answered Dorothy, indignantly ." if_you had any sense at all you'd known it was_the earthquake ."

" we only know that yesterday came a rain of Stones upon us, which did much damage and injured some_of_our people . today came another rain of Stones, and soon after it you appeared among us ."

" by_the_way," said the man with_the star, looking steadily at_the sorcerer, " you told us yesterday that there would_not_be a second rain of Stones . yet one has just occurred that was even worse than_the first . what_is your sorcery good for if_it cannot tell us the truth ? "

" my sorcery does tell the truth ! " declared the thorn- covered man ." I_said there would_be but one rain of Stones . this second one was a rain of people- and- horse- and- buggy . and some stones came with_them ."

" will there be any more Rains ? " asked the man with_the star .

" no, my prince ."

" neither stones nor people ? "

" no, my prince ."

" are_you sure ? "

" quite_sure, my prince . my sorcery tells me so ."

just then a man came running into_the hall and addressed the prince after making a low bow .

" more wonders in_the air, my lord," said he .

immediately the prince and all of_his people flocked out_of_the hall into_the street, that they_might see what_was about to happen . Dorothy and Zeb jumped out_of_the buggy and ran after them, but the sorcerer remained calmly in_his throne .

far up in_the air was an object that looked like a balloon . it_was not so high as_the glowing star of_the six colored suns, but was descending slowly through_the air-- so slowly that at first it scarcely seemed to move .

the throng stood still and waited . it_was all they_could do, for to_go away and leave that strange sight was impossible; nor could they hurry its fall in any_way . the earth children were_not noticed, being so near the average size of_the Mangaboos, and_the horse had remained in_the house of_the sorcerer, with eureka curled up asleep on_the seat of_the buggy .

gradually the balloon grew bigger, which_was proof that_it_was settling down upon_the land of_the Mangaboos . Dorothy was surprised to_find how patient the people were, for her own little heart was beating rapidly with excitement .a balloon meant to her some other arrival from_the surface of_the earth, and she hoped it would_be some one able to assist her and Zeb out of_their difficulties .

in an hour the balloon had come near enough for her to_see a basket suspended below it; in two hours she_could see a head looking over the side of_the basket; in three hours the big balloon settled slowly into_the great square in_which they stood and came to rest on_the glass pavement .

then a little man jumped out_of_the basket, took off his tall hat, and bowed very gracefully to_the crowd of Mangaboos around him . he_was quite an old little man and_his head was long and entirely bald .

" why," cried Dorothy, in amazement, " it's Oz ! "

the little man looked toward her and seemed as_much surprised as she was . but he smiled and bowed as he answered:

" yes, my dear; I_am Oz, the great and terrible .Eh ? and you_are little Dorothy, from Kansas .I remember you very_well ."

" who did you say it_was ? " whispered Zeb to_the girl .

" it's the wonderful wizard of Oz . haven't you heard of him ? "

just then the man with_the star came and stood before_the wizard .

" sir," said he, " why are_you here, in_the land of_the Mangaboos ? "

"Didn't know what land it_was, my son," returned the other, with a pleasant smile; " and, to_be honest, I didn't mean to visit you when I started out .I live on top of_the earth, your honor, which_is far better than living inside it; but yesterday I went up in a balloon, and when I_came down I fell into a big crack in_the earth, caused by an earthquake .I had let so_much gas out of_my balloon that I_could_not rise again, and in_a_few_minutes the earth closed over my head . so I continued to descend until I reached this place, and if_you_will show me a way to_get out of it, I'll go with pleasure . sorry to_have troubled you; but it couldn't be helped ."

the prince had listened with attention . said he:

" this child, who_is from_the crust of_the earth, like yourself, called you a wizard . is_not a wizard something like a sorcerer ? "

" it's better," replied Oz, promptly ." one wizard is worth three Sorcerers ."

"Ah, you shall prove that," said the prince ." we Mangaboos have, at_the present time, one_of_the_most wonderful Sorcerers that ever was picked from a bush; but he sometimes makes mistakes . do_you ever make mistakes ? "

" never ! " declared the wizard, boldly .

"Oh, Oz ! " said Dorothy; " you_made alot of mistakes when_you were in_the marvelous land of Oz ."

" nonsense ! " said the little man, turning red-- although just then a ray of violet sunlight was on_his round face .

" come with me," said the prince to him ." i_wish to meet our sorcerer ."

the wizard did_not like this invitation, but he_could_not refuse to accept it . so he followed the prince into_the great domed hall, and Dorothy and Zeb came after them, while the throng of people trooped in also .

there sat the thorny sorcerer in_his chair of state, and when_the wizard saw him he began to laugh, uttering comical little chuckles .

" what an absurd creature ! " he exclaimed .

" he_may look absurd," said the prince, in_his quiet voice; " but he_is an excellent sorcerer . the only fault I_find with_him is_that he_is so often wrong ."

" I_am never wrong," answered the sorcerer .

" only a short time ago you told me there would_be no more rain of Stones or of people," said the prince .

" well, what then ? "

" here_is another person descended from_the air to_prove you were wrong ."

" one person cannot_be called ' people,'" said the sorcerer ." if two should come out_of_the sky you_might with justice say i_was wrong; but unless more than this_one appears i_will hold that i_was right ."

" very clever," said the wizard, nodding his head as_if pleased ." I_am delighted to_find humbugs inside the earth, just the same as on top of it . were you ever with a circus, brother ? "

" no," said the sorcerer .

" you ought to join one," declared the little man seriously ."I belong to Bailum & Barney's great consolidated Shows-- three rings in one tent and a menagerie on_the side . it's a fine aggregation, I assure you ."

" what do_you do ? " asked the sorcerer .

"I go up in a balloon, usually, to draw

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