Oz 01: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
Section [1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17]
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 good witch, and_the people love me . I_am not as powerful as_the wicked witch was who ruled here, or i_should_have set the people free myself ."

" but i_thought all witches were wicked," said the girl, who was half 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 who live in_the north and_the south, are good witches . I_know this_is true, for I_am one_of_them myself, and cannot_be mistaken . those who dwelt in_the east and_the west were, indeed, wicked witches; but now that you_have killed one_of_them, there_is but one wicked witch in all the land of Oz-- the one who lives in_the west ."

" but," said Dorothy, after a moment's thought, " aunt Em has 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 her eyes upon_the ground . then she looked up and said, " I_do_not know where Kansas 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 there_are 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 rest of_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 her voice to a whisper ." he_is more powerful than all the rest of us together . he lives in_the city of Emeralds ."

Dorothy was going to ask another question, but just then the Munchkins, who had_been standing silently by, gave a loud shout and pointed to_the corner of_the house where the wicked witch had_been lying .

" what_is it ? " asked the little old woman, and looked, and began to laugh . the feet of_the dead witch had disappeared entirely, and nothing was left but the silver shoes .

" she was so old," explained the witch of_the north, " that she dried up quickly in_the sun . that_is_the end of her . but the silver shoes are yours, and you_shall_have them to wear ." she reached down and picked up the 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 one_of_the Munchkins, " and there_is some charm connected with_them; but what it_is we never knew ."

Dorothy carried the shoes into_the house and placed them on_the table . then she came out again to_the Munchkins and said:

" I_am anxious to_get back to my aunt and uncle, for I_am_sure they_will worry 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 great desert, and none could live to cross it ."

" it_is_the same at_the south," said another, " for I_have_been there and seen it . the south is_the country of_the Quadlings ."

" I_am told," said the third man, " that_it_is the same at_the west . and_that country, where the Winkies live, is ruled by_the wicked witch of_the west, who_would make you her slave if_you passed her way ."

" the north is my home," said the old lady, " and at its edge is_the same great desert that surrounds this land of Oz .I'm afraid, my dear, you_will_have to live with_us ."

Dorothy began to sob at_this, for she felt lonely among all these strange people . her tears seemed to grieve the kind-hearted Munchkins, for they immediately took out their handkerchiefs and began to weep also . as for_the little old woman, she took off her cap and balanced the point on_the end of her nose, while she counted " one, two, three" in a solemn voice . at once the cap changed to a slate, on which_was written in big, white chalk marks:

" let Dorothy go to_the city of EMERALDS"

the little old woman took the slate from her nose, and having read the words on_it, 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 help_you ."

" where is_this city ? " asked Dorothy .

" it_is exactly in_the center of_the country, and_is ruled by Oz, the great 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 I_have never seen him ."

" how can I get there ? " asked Dorothy .

" you_must walk . it_is a long journey, through a country that_is sometimes pleasant and sometimes dark and terrible . however, i_will use all the magic arts I_know of to_keep you from harm ."

" won't you go with me ? " pleaded the girl, who had begun to look upon_the little old woman as her only friend .

" no, I_cannot do_that," she replied, " but i_will give_you my kiss, and no one will dare injure a person who has_been kissed by_the witch of_the north ."

she came close to Dorothy and kissed her gently on_the forehead . where her lips touched the girl they left a round, shining mark, as Dorothy found out soon after .

" the road to_the city of Emeralds is paved with yellow brick," said the witch, " so you_cannot miss it . when_you get to Oz do_not be afraid of him, 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, after which they walked away through_the trees . the witch gave Dorothy a friendly little nod, whirled around on her left heel three times, and straightway disappeared, much to_the surprise of little Toto, who barked after her loudly enough when she had gone, because he had_been afraid even to growl while she stood by .

but Dorothy, knowing her to_be a witch, had expected her to disappear in just that way, and was not surprised in_the least .

3 . how Dorothy saved the Scarecrow

when Dorothy was left alone she began to_feel hungry . so she went to_the cupboard and cut herself some bread, which she spread with butter . she gave some to Toto, and taking a pail from_the shelf she carried it down to_the little brook and filled it with clear, sparkling water .Toto ran over to_the trees 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 some of 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 good drink of_the cool, clear water, she set about making ready for_the journey to_the city of Emeralds .

Dorothy had only_one other dress, but that happened to_be clean and was hanging on a Peg beside her bed . it_was gingham, with checks of white and blue; and although the blue was somewhat faded with many washings, it_was still a pretty frock . 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 it with bread from_the cupboard, laying a white cloth over the top . then she looked 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 . and Toto looked up into her face with_his little black eyes and wagged his tail to show he_knew what she meant .

at_that moment Dorothy saw lying on_the table the silver shoes that had belonged to_the witch of_the east .

"I wonder if they_will fit me," she said to Toto ." they_would_be 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 fitted her 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 city and 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 her dress . and so, with Toto trotting along soberly behind her, she started on her journey .

there were several roads near by, but it did_not take her long to_find the one paved with yellow bricks . within a short time she was walking briskly toward the emerald city, her silver shoes tinkling merrily on_the hard, yellow road- bed . the sun shone bright and_the birds sang sweetly, and Dorothy did_not feel nearly so bad as_you_might think a little girl would who had_been suddenly whisked 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 about her . there were neat fences at_the sides of_the road, painted a dainty blue color, and beyond them were fields of grain and vegetables in abundance .Evidently the Munchkins were good farmers and able to raise large crops . once in a while she_would pass a house, and_the people came out to look at her and bow low as she went by; for everyone knew she had_been the means of destroying the wicked witch and setting them free from bondage . the houses of_the Munchkins were odd- looking dwellings, for each was round, with a big dome for a roof . all were painted blue, for in_this country of_the east blue was_the favorite color .

toward evening, when Dorothy was tired with her long walk and began to wonder where she should pass the night, she came to a house rather larger than_the rest . on_the green lawn before it many men_and_women were dancing .Five little fiddlers played as loudly as possible, and_the people were laughing and singing, 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 the night with_them; for_this was_the home of one_of_the richest Munchkins in_the land, and_his friends were gathered with_him to celebrate their freedom from_the 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 great sorceress ."

" 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 wear white ."

" my dress is blue and white checked," said Dorothy, smoothing out the wrinkles in_it .

" it_is kind of you to wear that," said Boq ." blue is_the color of_the Munchkins, and white is_the witch color . so we_know you_are a friendly witch ."

Dorothy did_not know what to_say to_this, for all the people seemed to_think her a witch, and she knew very_well she was only an ordinary little girl who had 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 he_gave 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 blue rug beside her .

she ate a hearty breakfast, and watched awee Munchkin baby, who played with Toto and pulled his tail and crowed and laughed in a way that greatly amused Dorothy .Toto was a fine curiosity to all the people, for they had never seen a dog before .

" how far is_it to_the emerald city ? " the girl asked .

" I_do_not know," answered Boq gravely, " for I_have never been there . it_is better for people to_keep away from Oz, unless they_have business with_him . but it_is a long way to_the emerald city, and it_will take you many days . the country here_is rich and pleasant, but you_must pass through rough and dangerous places before_you reach the end of your journey ."

this worried Dorothy a little, but she knew that only the great Oz could help her get to Kansas again, so she bravely resolved not to_turn back .

she bade her friends good-bye, and again started along the road

Section [1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17]