Oz 01: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
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saw the mark on Dorothy's forehead, for she knew well that neither the winged Monkeys nor she, herself, dare hurt the girl in any_way . she looked down at Dorothy's feet, and seeing the silver shoes, began to tremble with fear, for she knew what a powerful charm belonged to_them . at first the witch was tempted to run away from Dorothy; but she happened to look into_the child's eyes and saw how simple the soul behind them was, and_that the little girl did_not know of_the wonderful power the silver shoes gave her . so the wicked witch laughed to herself, and thought, " I_can still make her my slave, for she does_not know how to use her power ." then she said to Dorothy, harshly and severely:

" come with me; and_see that you mind everything I tell you, for if_you_do_not i_will make an end of you, as I_did of_the tin woodman and_the Scarecrow ."

Dorothy followed her through many_of_the beautiful rooms in her castle until they came to_the kitchen, where the witch bade her clean the pots and kettles and 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 she_could; 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 courtyard and 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 she opened the gate the lion gave a loud roar and bounded at her so fiercely that_the witch was afraid, and ran out and shut the gate again .

" if I_cannot harness you," said the witch to_the lion, speaking through_the bars of_the gate, " I_can starve you . you_shall_have nothing to eat until you_do as i_wish ."

so after_that she took no food to_the imprisoned lion; but every day she came to_the gate at noon and asked, " are_you ready to_be harnessed like a horse ? "

and_the lion would answer, " no . if_you come in_this yard, i_will bite you ."

the reason the lion did_not have to_do as_the witch wished was_that every night, 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 lie beside him and put her head on_his soft, shaggy mane, while they talked of_their troubles and tried to_plan some way to escape . but they_could find no way to_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 she told them .

the girl had to work hard during the day, and often the witch threatened to beat her with_the same old umbrella she always carried in her hand . but, in truth, she did_not dare to strike Dorothy, because of_the mark upon her forehead . the child did_not know this, and was full of fear for herself and Toto . once the witch struck Toto a blow with her umbrella and_the brave little dog flew at her and bit her leg in return . the witch did_not bleed where she was bitten, for she was so wicked that_the blood in her had dried up many years before .

Dorothy's life became very sad as she grew to understand that_it would_be harder than ever to_get back to Kansas and aunt Em again .Sometimes she_would cry bitterly for hours, with Toto sitting at her feet and looking into her face, whining dismally to show how sorry he_was for_his little mistress .Toto did_not really care whether he_was in Kansas or the land of Oz so_long as Dorothy was with_him; but he_knew the little girl was unhappy, and_that made him unhappy too .

now the wicked witch had a great longing to_have for her own the silver shoes which the girl always wore . her bees and her crows and her wolves were lying in heaps and drying up, and she had used up all the power of_the golden Cap; but if she_could only get hold of_the silver shoes, they_would give her more power than all the other things she had lost . she watched Dorothy carefully, to_see if she ever took off her shoes, thinking she might steal them . but the child was so proud of her pretty shoes that she never took them off except at night and when she took her bath . the witch was too_much afraid of_the dark to dare go in Dorothy's room at night to take_the shoes, and her dread of water was greater than her fear of_the dark, so she never came near when Dorothy was bathing . indeed, the old witch never touched water, nor ever let water touch her in any_way .

but the wicked creature was very cunning, and she finally thought of a trick that_would give her what she wanted . she placed a bar of iron in_the middle of_the kitchen floor, and then by her magic arts made the iron invisible to human eyes . 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, but in 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 long as she had one_of_the shoes she owned half the power of_their charm, and Dorothy 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, and said to_the witch, " give_me back my shoe ! "

" i_will_not," retorted the witch, " for_it is now my shoe, and not yours ."

" you_are a wicked creature ! " cried Dorothy ." you_have no right 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 that stood 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 looked at her in wonder, the witch began to shrink and fall away .

" see what you have_done ! " she screamed ." in a minute I_shall melt away ."

"I'm very sorry, indeed," said Dorothy, who was truly frightened to_see the witch actually melting away like brown sugar before her very eyes .

"Didn't you_know water would_be the end of me ? " asked the witch, in awailing, despairing voice .

" of_course not," answered Dorothy ." how should I ? "

" well, in_a_few_minutes I_shall_be all melted, and you_will_have the castle to yourself . I_have_been wicked in my day, but I never thought a little girl like you_would ever be_able to melt me and end my wicked deeds . look out-- here I go ! "

with_these words the witch fell down in a brown, melted, shapeless mass and began to spread over the clean boards of_the kitchen floor .Seeing that she had really melted away to nothing, Dorothy drew another bucket of water and threw it over the mess . she then swept it all out the door . after picking out the silver shoe, which_was all that was left of_the old woman, she cleaned and dried it with a cloth, and put it on her foot again . then, being at last free to_do as she chose, she ran out to_the courtyard to_tell the lion that_the wicked witch of_the west had come to an end, and that_they were no longer prisoners in a strange land .

13 . the rescue

the cowardly lion was much pleased to hear that_the wicked witch had_been melted by a bucket of water, and Dorothy at once unlocked the gate of_his prison and set him free . they went in together to_the castle, where Dorothy's first act was to_call all the Winkies together and tell them that_they were no longer slaves .

there_was great rejoicing among_the yellow Winkies, for they had_been made to work hard during many years for_the wicked witch, who had always treated them with great cruelty . they kept this day as a holiday, then and ever after, and spent the time in feasting and dancing .

" if our friends, the Scarecrow and_the tin woodman, were only with_us," said the lion, " i_should_be quite happy ."

"Don't you suppose we_could rescue them ? " asked the girl anxiously .

" we_can try," answered the lion .

so they called the yellow Winkies and asked them if_they_would help to rescue their friends, and_the Winkies said that they_would_be delighted to_do all in their power for Dorothy, who had set them free from bondage . so she chose a number of_the Winkies who looked as if_they knew the most, and_they all started away . they traveled that day and part of_the next until they came to_the rocky plain 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_the yellow castle again, Dorothy shedding a few tears by_the_way at_the sad plight of her old friend, and_the lion looking sober and sorry . when_they reached the castle 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_you straighten out those dents in_the tin woodman, and bend him back into shape again, and solder him together where he_is broken ? "

the tinsmiths looked the woodman over carefully and then answered that_they thought they_could mend him so he_would_be as good as ever . so they set to work in one_of_the big yellow rooms of_the castle and worked for three days and four nights, hammering and twisting and bending and soldering and polishing and pounding at_the legs and body and head of_the tin woodman, until at last he_was straightened out into his old form, and_his joints worked as_well as ever . to_be_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 rescuing him, he_was so pleased that he wept tears of joy, and Dorothy had to wipe every tear 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 her old friend again, and these tears did_not need to_be wiped away . as for_the lion, he wiped his eyes so often with_the tip of_his tail that_it became quite wet, and he_was obliged to_go out into_the courtyard and hold it in_the sun till 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, " i_should_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 of_the next until they came to_the tall tree in_the branches of_which the winged Monkeys had tossed the Scarecrow's clothes .

it_was a very tall tree, and_the trunk was so smooth that no one could climb it; but the woodman said at once, "I'll chop it down, and then we_can get the Scarecrow's clothes ."

now while the tinsmiths had_been at work mending the woodman himself, another of_the Winkies, who was a goldsmith, had made an axe- handle of solid gold and fitted it to_the woodman's axe, instead of_the old broken handle .Others polished the blade until all the rust was removed and it glistened like burnished silver .

as_soon_as he had spoken, the tin woodman began to chop, and in a short time the tree fell over with a crash, whereupon the Scarecrow's clothes fell out_of_the branches and rolled off on_the ground .

Dorothy picked them up and had the Winkies carry them back to_the castle, where they 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 at_the yellow castle, where they found everything they needed to_make them comfortable .

but one day the girl thought of aunt Em, and said, "

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