Oz 01: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
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little bell around Toto's neck with a green ribbon .

they went to bed quite early and slept soundly until daylight, when_they were awakened by_the crowing of a green cock that lived in_the back yard of_the palace, and_the cackling of ahen that had laid a green egg .

12 . the search for_the wicked witch

the soldier with_the green whiskers led them through_the streets of_the emerald city until they reached the room where the guardian of_the Gates lived . this officer unlocked their spectacles to_put them back in_his great box, and then he 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 ." no one 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 you_are in_the country of_the Winkies she will_find you, and make you all her slaves ."

" perhaps not," said the Scarecrow, " for we mean to destroy her ."

"Oh, that_is different," said the guardian of_the Gates ." no one has ever destroyed her before, so I naturally thought she_would make slaves of 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, and you_cannot fail to_find her ."

they thanked him and bade him good-bye, and turned toward the west, walking over 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 ribbon around Toto's neck had also lost its green color and was as white as Dorothy's dress .

the emerald city was soon left far behind . as_they advanced the ground became rougher and hillier, for there were no farms nor houses in_this country of_the west, and_the ground was untilled .

in_the afternoon the sun shone hot in their faces, for there were no trees to offer them shade; so_that before night Dorothy and Toto and_the lion were tired, and lay down upon_the grass and fell asleep, with_the woodman and_the Scarecrow keeping watch .

now the wicked witch of_the west had but one eye, yet that was as powerful as a telescope, 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 all about her . they were a long distance off, but the wicked witch was angry to_find them in her country; so she blew upon a silver whistle that hung around her 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 to pieces ."

" are_you not going to_make them your slaves ? " asked the leader of_the wolves .

" no," she answered, " one is of tin, and one of straw; one is a girl and another a lion . none_of_them is fit to work, so you_may tear them into 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 wolves coming .

" this_is my fight," said the woodman, " so get behind me and_I_will meet them as they_come ."

he seized his axe, which he had made very sharp, and as_the leader of_the wolves came on_the tin woodman swung his arm and chopped the wolf's head from its body, so_that it immediately died . as_soon_as he_could raise his axe another wolf came up, and he also fell under the sharp edge of_the tin woodman's weapon . there were forty wolves, and forty times a wolf was killed, 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_was a good fight, friend ."

they waited until Dorothy awoke the next morning . the little girl was quite frightened when she saw the great pile of shaggy wolves, but the tin woodman told her all . she thanked him for saving them and sat down to breakfast, after which they started again upon their journey .

now this same morning the wicked witch came to_the door of her castle and looked out with her one eye that could_see far off . she saw all her wolves lying dead, and_the strangers still traveling through her country . this made her angrier than before, and she blew her silver whistle twice .

straightway a great flock of wild crows came flying toward her, enough to darken the sky .

and_the wicked witch said to_the king crow, " fly at once to_the strangers; peck out their eyes and tear them to pieces ."

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

but the Scarecrow said, " this_is my battle, so lie down beside me and you_will_not_be harmed ."

so they all lay upon_the ground except the Scarecrow, and he stood up and stretched out his arms . and when_the crows saw him they were frightened, as_these birds always are by scarecrows, and did_not dare to_come any nearer . but the 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 its neck until it died . and then another crow flew at him, and_the Scarecrow twisted its neck also . there were forty crows, and forty times the Scarecrow twisted a neck, until at last all were lying dead beside him . then he_called to_his 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 bees came 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 her friends were walking . but the woodman had seen them coming, and_the Scarecrow had decided what to_do .

" take out my straw and scatter it over the little girl and_the dog and_the lion," he_said to_the woodman, " and_the bees cannot sting them ." this the woodman did, and as Dorothy lay close beside the lion and held 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 him and broke off all their stings against the tin, without hurting the woodman at all . and as bees cannot live when their stings are broken that was_the end of_the black bees, and_they lay scattered thick about_the woodman, like little heaps of fine coal .

then Dorothy and_the lion got up, and_the girl helped the tin woodman put the straw back into_the Scarecrow again, until he_was as good as ever . so they started upon their journey once more .

the wicked witch was so angry when she saw her black bees in little heaps like fine 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 them sharp 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 . so they marched away until they came near to Dorothy . then the lion gave a great roar and sprang towards them, and_the poor Winkies were so frightened that_they ran 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 she should do next . she_could_not understand how all her plans to destroy these strangers 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 rubies running round it . this golden Cap had a charm . whoever owned it could call three 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 she had 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 had fought against the great Oz himself, and driven him out_of_the land of_the west . the winged Monkeys had also helped her in doing this . only once more could she use this golden Cap, for_which reason she did_not like to_do_so until all her other powers were exhausted . but now that her fierce wolves and her wild crows and her stinging bees were gone, and her slaves had_been scared away by_the cowardly lion, she saw there_was only_one way left to destroy Dorothy and her friends .

so the wicked witch took the golden Cap from her cupboard and placed it upon her 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 was heard in_the air . there_was arushing of many wings, a great chattering and laughing, and_the sun came out_of_the dark sky to show the wicked witch surrounded by a crowd of monkeys, each with a pair of immense and powerful wings on_his shoulders .

one, much bigger than_the others, seemed to_be their leader . he flew close to_the witch and said, " you_have called us for_the third and last time . what do_you command ? "

" go to_the strangers who_are within my land and destroy them all except the lion," said the wicked witch ." bring that beast to_me, for I_have a mind to harness him like a horse, and make him work ."

" your commands shall be obeyed," said the leader . then, with a great deal of chattering and noise, the winged Monkeys flew away to_the place where Dorothy and her friends were walking .

some_of_the Monkeys seized the tin woodman and carried him through_the air until they were over a country thickly covered with sharp rocks . here they dropped the poor woodman, who fell a great distance to_the rocks, where he lay so battered and dented that he_could neither move nor groan .

Others of_the Monkeys caught the Scarecrow, and with their long fingers pulled all of_the straw out of_his clothes and head . they made his hat and boots and clothes 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 many coils about his body and head and legs, until he_was unable to bite or scratch or struggle in any_way . then they lifted him up and flew away with_him to_the witch's castle, where he_was placed in a small yard with a high iron fence 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 stretched out and_his ugly face grinning terribly; but he_saw the mark of_the good witch's kiss upon her forehead and stopped short, motioning the others not to touch her .

" we dare not harm this little girl," he_said to_them, " for she_is protected by_the power of good, and_that is greater than_the power of evil . all we_can do is to carry her to_the castle of_the wicked witch and leave her there ."

so, carefully and gently, they lifted Dorothy in their arms and carried her swiftly through_the air until they came to_the castle, where they set her down upon_the front doorstep . then the leader said to_the witch:

" we_have obeyed you as far as_we were able . the tin woodman and_the Scarecrow are destroyed, and_the lion is tied up in your yard . the little girl we dare not harm, nor the dog she carries in her arms . your power over our band is now ended, and you_will never see us again ."

then all the winged Monkeys, with much laughing and chattering and noise, flew into_the air and were soon out of sight .

the wicked witch was both surprised and worried when she saw

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