Oz 01: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
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heart ."

" very_well," answered Oz meekly ." come to_me tomorrow and you_shall_have a heart . I_have played wizard for so_many years that I_may as_well continue the part a little longer ."

" and now," said Dorothy, " how am I to_get back to Kansas ? "

" we_shall_have to_think about_that," replied the little man ." give_me two_or_three days to consider the matter and I'll try to_find a way to carry you over the desert . in_the meantime you shall all be treated as my guests, and while you live in_the palace my people will wait upon you and obey your slightest wish . there_is only one_thing I ask in return for_my help-- such as_it_is . you_must keep my secret and tell no one I_am a humbug ."

they agreed to_say nothing of what they had learned, and went back to_their rooms in high spirits . even Dorothy had hope_that " the great and terrible humbug," as she called him, would find a way to send her back to Kansas, and if he_did she was willing to forgive him everything .

16 . the magic art of_the great humbug

next morning the Scarecrow said to_his friends:

" congratulate me . I_am going to Oz to_get my brains at last . when I return I_shall_be as other men are ."

" I_have always liked you as_you were," said Dorothy simply .

" it_is kind of you to like aScarecrow," he replied ." but surely you_will think more of me when_you hear the splendid thoughts my new brain is going to_turn out ." then he_said good-bye to_them all in a cheerful voice and went to_the throne room, where he rapped upon_the door .

" come in," said Oz .

the Scarecrow went in and found the little man sitting down by_the window, engaged in deep thought .

" I_have come for_my brains," remarked the Scarecrow, a little uneasily .

"Oh, yes; sit down in_that chair, please," replied Oz ." you_must excuse me for taking your head off, but I_shall_have to_do_it in_order to_put your brains in their proper place ."

" that's all right," said the Scarecrow ." you_are quite welcome to_take my head off, as long as_it_will_be a better one when_you put it on again ."

so the wizard unfastened his head and emptied out the straw . then he entered the back room and took up a measure of bran, which he mixed with a great_many pins and needles .Having shaken them together thoroughly, he filled the top of_the Scarecrow's head with_the mixture and stuffed the rest of_the space with straw, to hold it in place .

when he had fastened the Scarecrow's head on_his body again he_said to him, " hereafter you_will_be a great man, for I_have_given you alot of bran- new brains ."

the Scarecrow was both pleased and proud at_the fulfillment of_his greatest wish, and having thanked Oz warmly he went back to_his friends .

Dorothy looked at him curiously . his head was quite bulged out at_the top with brains .

" how do_you feel ? " she asked .

" I_feel wise indeed," he answered earnestly ." when I get used to my brains I_shall know everything ."

" why are those needles and pins sticking out of your head ? " asked the tin woodman .

" that_is proof that he_is sharp," remarked the lion .

" well, I_must go to Oz and get my heart," said the woodman . so he walked to_the throne room and knocked at_the door .

" come in," called Oz, and_the woodman entered and said, " I_have come for_my heart ."

" very_well," answered the little man ." but I_shall_have to cut a hole in your breast, so I_can put your heart in_the right place . I_hope it won't hurt you ."

"Oh, no," answered the woodman ." I_shall_not feel it at all ."

so Oz brought a pair of tinsmith's shears and cut a small, square hole in_the left side of_the tin woodman's breast . then, going to a chest of drawers, he_took out a pretty heart, made entirely of silk and stuffed with sawdust .

"Isn't it a beauty ? " he asked .

" it_is, indeed ! " replied the woodman, who was greatly pleased ." but is_it a kind heart ? "

"Oh, very ! " answered Oz . he put the heart in_the woodman's breast and then replaced the square of tin, soldering it neatly together where it had_been cut .

" there," said he; " now you_have a heart that any man might_be proud of .I'm sorry I had to_put a patch on_your breast, but it really couldn't be helped ."

" never mind the patch," exclaimed the happy woodman ." I_am very grateful to_you, and shall never forget your kindness ."

"Don't speak of it," replied Oz .

then the tin woodman went back to_his friends, who wished him every joy on account of_his good fortune .

the lion now walked to_the throne room and knocked at_the door .

" come in," said Oz .

" I_have come for_my courage," announced the lion, entering the room .

" very_well," answered the little man; " i_will get it for_you ."

he went to a cupboard and reaching up_to a high shelf took down a square green bottle, the contents of_which he poured into a green- gold dish, beautifully carved .Placing this before_the cowardly lion, who sniffed at it as_if he_did_not like it, the wizard said:

" drink ."

" what_is it ? " asked the lion .

" well," answered Oz, " if_it were inside of you, it would_be courage . you_know, of_course, that courage is always inside one; so that_this really cannot_be called courage until you_have swallowed it . therefore I advise you to drink it as_soon_as_possible ."

the lion hesitated no longer, but drank till the dish was empty .

" how do_you feel now ? " asked Oz .

" full of courage," replied the lion, who went joyfully back to_his friends to_tell them of_his good fortune .

Oz, left to himself, smiled to_think of_his success in giving the Scarecrow and_the tin woodman and_the lion exactly what they thought they wanted ." how can I help being a humbug," he_said, " when all these people make me do things that everybody knows can't be_done ? it_was easy to make_the Scarecrow and_the lion and_the woodman happy, because they imagined I_could do anything . but it_will take more than imagination to carry Dorothy back to Kansas, and I'm sure I don't know how it can_be_done ."

17 . how the balloon was Launched

for three days Dorothy heard nothing from Oz . these were sad days for_the little girl, although her friends were all quite happy and contented . the Scarecrow told them there were wonderful thoughts in_his head; but he_would_not say what they were because he_knew no one could understand them but himself . when_the tin woodman walked about he_felt his heart rattling around in_his breast; and he_told Dorothy he had discovered it to_be a kinder and more tender heart than_the one he had owned when he was_made of flesh . the lion declared he_was afraid of nothing on earth, and would gladly face an army or a dozen of_the fierce Kalidahs .

thus each of_the little party was satisfied except Dorothy, who longed more than ever to_get back to Kansas .

on_the fourth day, to her great joy, Oz sent for her, and when she entered the throne room he greeted her pleasantly:

" sit down, my dear; i_think I_have found the way to_get you out of_this country ."

" and back to Kansas ? " she asked eagerly .

" well, I'm not sure about Kansas," said Oz, " for I haven't the faintest notion which_way it lies . but the first thing to_do is to cross the desert, and then it should_be easy to_find your way home ."

" how can I cross the desert ? " she inquired .

" well, I'll tell you what i_think," said the little man ." you_see, when I_came to_this country it_was in a balloon . you also came through_the air, being carried by a cyclone . so I believe the best way to_get across the desert will_be through_the air . now, it_is quite beyond my powers to_make a cyclone; but I've been thinking the matter over, and I believe I_can make a balloon ."

" how ? " asked Dorothy .

"A balloon," said Oz, " is made of silk, which_is coated with glue to_keep the gas in_it . I_have plenty of silk in_the palace, so it_will_be no trouble to make_the balloon . but in all this country there_is no gas to_fill the balloon with, to_make it float ."

" if_it won't float," remarked Dorothy, " it_will_be of no use to_us ."

" true," answered Oz ." but there_is another way to_make it float, which_is to_fill it with hot air . hot air isn't as good as gas, for if_the air should get cold the balloon would come down in_the desert, and we_should_be lost ."

" we ! " exclaimed the girl ." are_you going with me ? "

" yes, of_course," replied Oz ." I_am tired of being such a humbug . if i_should go out of_this palace my people would soon discover I_am not a wizard, and then they_would_be vexed with me for having deceived them . so I_have to stay shut up in_these rooms all day, and it gets tiresome .I'd much rather go back to Kansas with_you and be in a circus again ."

" I_shall_be_glad to_have your company," said Dorothy .

" thank_you," he answered ." now, if_you_will help me sew the silk together, we_will begin to work on_our balloon ."

so Dorothy took a needle and thread, and as fast as Oz cut the strips of silk into proper shape the girl sewed them neatly together . first there_was a strip of light green silk, then a strip of dark green and then a strip of emerald green; for Oz had a fancy to make_the balloon in different shades of_the color about_them . it took three days to sew all the strips together, but when it_was finished they had a big bag of green silk more than twenty feet long .

then Oz painted it on_the inside with a coat of thin glue, to_make it airtight, after which he announced that_the balloon was ready .

" but we_must_have a basket to ride in," he_said . so he sent the soldier with_the green whiskers for a big clothes basket, which he fastened with many ropes to_the bottom of_the balloon .

when it_was all ready, Oz sent word to_his people that he_was going to_make a visit to a great brother wizard who lived in_the clouds . the news spread rapidly throughout_the city and everyone came to_see the wonderful sight .

Oz ordered the balloon carried out in front of_the palace, and_the people gazed upon it with much curiosity . the tin woodman had chopped a big pile of wood, and now he_made a fire of it, and Oz held the bottom of_the balloon over the fire so that_the hot air that arose from_it would_be caught in_the silken bag . gradually the balloon swelled out and rose into_the air, until finally the basket just touched the ground .

then Oz got into_the basket and said to all the people in a loud voice:

" I_am now going away to_make a visit . while I_am gone the Scarecrow will rule over you .I command you to obey him as_you_would me ."

the balloon was by_this_time tugging hard at_the rope that held it to_the ground, for_the air within it_was hot, and this made it so_much lighter in weight than_the air without that_it pulled hard to rise into_the sky .

" come, Dorothy ! " cried the wizard ." hurry up, or the balloon will fly away ."

" I_can't find Toto anywhere," replied Dorothy, who did_not wish to leave her little dog behind .Toto had run into_the crowd to bark at a kitten, and Dorothy at last found him . she picked him up and ran towards the balloon .

she was within a few steps of it, and Oz was holding out his hands to help her into_the basket, when, crack ! went the ropes, and_the balloon rose into_the air without her .

" come back ! " she screamed ." i_want to_go, too ! "

" I_can't come back, my dear," called Oz from_the basket ." good-bye ! "

" good-bye ! " shouted everyone, and all eyes were turned upward to where the wizard was riding in_the basket, rising every moment farther and farther into_the sky .

and_that was_the last any of_them ever saw of Oz, the wonderful wizard, though he_may_have reached Omaha safely, and be there now, for all we_know . but the people remembered him lovingly, and said to one another:

"Oz was always our friend . when he_was here he built for_us this beautiful emerald city, and now he_is gone he has left the wise Scarecrow to rule over us ."

still, for many days they grieved over the loss of_the wonderful wizard, and would_not_be comforted .

18 . away to_the south

Dorothy wept bitterly at_the passing of her hope to_get home to Kansas again; but when she thought it all over she was glad she had_not gone up in a balloon . and she also felt sorry at losing Oz, and

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