Oz 01: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
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great crowd to_the palace of Oz .

the soldier with_the green whiskers was still on guard before_the door, but he let them in at once, and_they were again met by_the beautiful green girl, who showed each of_them to_their old rooms at once, so they_might rest until the great Oz was ready to receive them .

the soldier had the news carried straight to Oz that Dorothy and_the other travelers had come back again, after destroying the wicked witch; but Oz made no reply . they thought the great wizard would send for_them at once, but he_did_not . they had no word from_him the next_day, nor the next, nor the next . the waiting was tiresome and wearing, and at last they grew vexed that Oz should treat them in so poor a fashion, after sending them to undergo hardships and slavery . so the Scarecrow at last asked the green girl to_take another message to Oz, saying if he_did_not let them in to_see him at once they_would call the winged Monkeys to help them, and find out whether he kept his promises or not . when_the wizard was given this message he_was so frightened that he sent word for_them to_come to_the throne room at four minutes after nine o'clock the next morning . he had once met the winged Monkeys in_the land of_the west, and he_did_not wish to meet them again .

the four travelers passed a sleepless night, each thinking of_the gift Oz had promised to bestow on him . Dorothy fell asleep only once, and then she dreamed she was in Kansas, where aunt Em was telling her how glad she was to_have her little girl at home again .

promptly at nine o'clock the next morning the green- whiskered soldier came to_them, and four minutes later they all went into_the throne room of_the great Oz .

of_course each one_of_them expected to_see the wizard in_the shape he had taken before, and all were greatly surprised when_they looked about and saw no one at all in_the room . they kept close to_the door and closer to one another, for_the stillness of_the empty room was more dreadful than any of_the forms they had seen Oz take .

presently they heard a solemn voice, that seemed to_come from somewhere near the top of_the great dome, and it said:

" I_am Oz, the great and terrible . why do_you seek me ? "

they looked again in every part of_the room, and then, seeing no one, Dorothy asked, " where are_you ? "

" I_am everywhere," answered the voice, " but to_the eyes of common mortals I_am invisible . i_will now seat myself upon my throne, that you_may converse with me ." indeed, the voice seemed just then to_come straight from_the throne itself; so they walked toward it and stood in a row while Dorothy said:

" we_have come to claim our promise, O Oz ."

" what promise ? " asked Oz .

" you promised to send me back to Kansas when_the wicked witch was destroyed," said the girl .

" and you promised to_give_me brains," said the Scarecrow .

" and you promised to_give_me a heart," said the tin woodman .

" and you promised to_give_me courage," said the cowardly lion .

" is_the wicked witch really destroyed ? " asked the voice, and Dorothy thought it trembled a little .

" yes," she answered, "I melted her with a bucket of water ."

" dear me," said the voice, " how sudden ! well, come to_me tomorrow, for I_must_have time to_think it over ."

" you've had plenty of_time already," said the tin woodman angrily .

" we shan't wait a day longer," said the Scarecrow .

" you_must keep your promises to_us ! " exclaimed Dorothy .

the lion thought it might_be as_well to frighten the wizard, so he_gave a large, loud roar, which_was so fierce and dreadful that Toto jumped away from_him in alarm and tipped over the screen that stood in a corner . as it fell with a crash they looked that way, and_the next moment all of_them were filled with wonder . for they saw, standing in just the spot the screen had hidden, a little old man, with a bald head and a wrinkled face, who seemed to_be as_much surprised as_they were . the tin woodman, raising his axe, rushed toward the little man and cried out, " who_are you ? "

" I_am Oz, the great and terrible," said the little man, in atrembling voice ." but don't strike me-- please don't-- and I'll do anything you_want me to ."

our friends looked at him in surprise and dismay .

" i_thought Oz was a great head," said Dorothy .

" and i_thought Oz was a lovely lady," said the Scarecrow .

" and i_thought Oz was a terrible beast," said the tin woodman .

" and i_thought Oz was a ball of fire," exclaimed the lion .

" no, you_are all wrong," said the little man meekly ." I_have_been making believe ."

"Making believe ! " cried Dorothy ." are_you not a great wizard ? "

" hush, my dear," he_said ."Don't speak so loud, or you_will_be overheard-- and i_should_be ruined .I'm supposed to_be a great wizard ."

" and aren't you ? " she asked .

" not a bit of it, my dear; I'm just a common man ."

" you're more than that," said the Scarecrow, in a grieved tone; " you're a humbug ."

" exactly so ! " declared the little man, rubbing his hands together as_if it pleased him ." I_am a humbug ."

" but this_is terrible," said the tin woodman ." how shall I ever get my heart ? "

" or I my courage ? " asked the lion .

" or I my brains ? " wailed the Scarecrow, wiping the tears from_his eyes with_his coat sleeve .

" my dear friends," said Oz, "I pray you not to_speak of_these little things . think of me, and_the terrible trouble I'm in at being found out ."

"Doesn't anyone else know you're a humbug ? " asked Dorothy .

" no one knows it but you four-- and myself," replied Oz ." I_have fooled everyone so_long that i_thought i_should never be found out . it_was a great mistake my ever letting you into_the throne room . usually i_will_not see even my subjects, and so they believe I_am something terrible ."

" but, I don't understand," said Dorothy, in bewilderment ." how was_it that you appeared to_me as a great head ? "

" that was one of_my tricks," answered Oz ." step this_way, please, and_I_will tell you all about_it ."

he led the way to a small chamber in_the rear of_the throne room, and_they all followed him . he pointed to one corner, in_which lay the great head, made out of many thicknesses of paper, and with a carefully painted face .

" this I hung from_the ceiling by a wire," said Oz ."I stood behind the screen and pulled a thread, to make_the eyes move and_the mouth open ."

" but how about_the voice ? " she inquired .

"Oh, I_am a ventriloquist," said the little man ." I_can throw the sound of_my voice wherever i_wish, so_that you thought it_was coming out_of_the head . here are the other things I used to deceive you ." he showed the Scarecrow the dress and_the mask he had worn when he_seemed to_be the lovely lady . and_the tin woodman saw that his terrible beast was nothing but alot of skins, sewn together, with slats to_keep their sides out . as for_the ball of fire, the false wizard had hung that also from_the ceiling . it_was really a ball of cotton, but when oil was poured upon it the ball burned fiercely .

" really," said the Scarecrow, " you ought_to_be ashamed of yourself for being such a humbug ."

" I_am--I certainly am," answered the little man sorrowfully; " but it_was the_only_thing I_could do . sit down, please, there_are plenty of chairs; and_I_will tell you my story ."

so they sat down and listened while he_told the following tale .

" i_was born in Omaha--"

" why, that isn't very far from Kansas ! " cried Dorothy .

" no, but it's farther from here," he_said, shaking his head at her sadly ." when I grew up I became a ventriloquist, and at_that i_was very_well trained by a great master . I_can imitate any kind of a bird or beast ." here he mewed so like a kitten that Toto pricked up his ears and looked everywhere to_see where she was ." after a time," continued Oz, "I tired of_that, and became a balloonist ."

" what_is that ? " asked Dorothy .

"A man who goes up in a balloon on circus day, so as_to draw a crowd of people together and get them to_pay to_see the circus," he explained .

"Oh," she said, " I_know ."

" well, one day I went up in a balloon and_the ropes got twisted, so_that I couldn't come down again . it went way up above the clouds, so_far that a current of air struck it and carried it many, many miles away . for a day and a night I traveled through_the air, and on_the morning of_the second day I awoke and found the balloon floating over a strange and beautiful country .

" it came down gradually, and i_was not hurt a bit . but I_found myself in_the midst of a strange people, who, seeing me come from_the clouds, thought i_was a great wizard . of_course I let them think so, because they were afraid of me, and promised to_do anything I wished them to .

" just to amuse myself, and keep the good people busy, I ordered them to build this city, and my palace; and_they did it all willingly and well . then i_thought, as_the country was so green and beautiful, i_would call it the emerald city; and to make_the name fit better I put green spectacles on all the people, so_that everything they saw was green ."

" but isn't everything here green ? " asked Dorothy .

" no more than in any_other city," replied Oz; " but when_you wear green spectacles, why of_course everything you_see looks green to_you . the emerald city was built a great_many years_ago, for i_was a young man when_the balloon brought me here, and I_am a very old man now . but my people have worn green glasses on their eyes so_long that most of_them think it really is an emerald city, and it certainly is a beautiful place, abounding in jewels and precious metals, and every good thing that_is needed to_make one happy . I_have_been good to_the people, and_they like me; but ever_since this palace was built, I_have shut myself up and would_not see any of_them .

" one of_my greatest fears was_the Witches, for while I had no magical powers at all I soon found out that_the Witches were really able to_do wonderful things . there were four of_them in_this country, and_they ruled the people who live in_the north and south and east and west .Fortunately, the Witches of_the north and south were good, and I_knew they_would do me no harm; but the Witches of_the east and west were terribly wicked, and had they not thought i_was more powerful than they themselves, they_would surely have destroyed me . as it_was, I lived in deadly fear of_them for many years; 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, i_was willing to promise anything if_you_would only do away with_the other witch; but, now that you_have melted her, I_am ashamed to_say that I_cannot keep my promises ."

" i_think you_are a very bad man," said Dorothy .

"Oh, no, my dear; I'm really a very_good man, but I'm a very bad wizard, I_must admit ."

" can't you give_me brains ? " asked the Scarecrow .

" you don't need them . you_are learning something every day .a baby has brains, but it doesn't know much . experience is the_only_thing that brings knowledge, and_the longer you_are on earth the more experience you_are_sure to_get ."

" that_may all be true," said the Scarecrow, " but I_shall_be very unhappy unless you give_me brains ."

the false wizard looked at him carefully .

" well," he_said with a sigh, "I'm not much of a magician, as I_said; but if_you_will come to_me tomorrow morning, i_will stuff your head with brains . I_cannot tell you how to use them, however; you_must find that out for_yourself ."

"Oh, thank_you-- thank_you ! " cried the Scarecrow ."I'll find a way to use them, never fear ! "

" but how about_my courage ? " asked the lion anxiously .

" you_have plenty of courage, I_am_sure," answered Oz ." all you_need is confidence in yourself . there_is no living thing that_is_not afraid when it faces danger . the true courage is in facing danger when_you_are afraid, and_that kind of courage you_have in plenty ."

" perhaps I_have, but I'm scared just the same," said the lion ." I_shall really 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 .

" why, as for_that," answered Oz, " i_think you_are wrong to want a heart . it makes most people unhappy . if_you only knew it, you_are in luck not to_have a heart ."

" that_must be a matter of opinion," said the tin woodman ." for_my part, i_will bear all the unhappiness without a murmur, if_you_will give_me the heart

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