TheWizardofOz

the Wizard of Oz. Dorothy was living with her uncle and aunt in Kansas.

Her mother and father had died when she was a small girl.

Kansas was often windy, and when the wind blew, the family always went into a hole under the floor.

One day, Uncle Henry stood at the door and looked out at the grey sky.

There's a big wind coming, he said to his wife.

I'm going to look after the animals. Take Dorothy into the hole.

Toto jumped out of Dorothy's arms and ran under the bed.

Toto was her little black dog. Dorothy tried to catch him, and Em climbed down

into the small dark hole under the floor and called Dorothy.

But the wind blew very hard against the house, and Dorothy fell on the floor with Toto in her arms.

Toto put his cold nose on Dorothy's face, and Dorothy opened her eyes.

There was no wind now. She jumped up, opened the door, and looked out.

This isn't Kansas, she said to Toto. Where are we?

She saw green grass and beautiful flowers, a river and tall fruit trees.

And who are these little people, thinks Dorothy?

They were small, and all their clothes were blue.

An old woman spoke to Dorothy.

We are glad to see you, young witch, in the country of the Munchkins.

You have killed the Wicked Witch of the East.

Dorothy didn't understand. I didn't kill anybody, and I'm not a witch.

She said, well, your house did, laughed the old woman.

Look, she pointed to two feet with silver shoes on them under the house.

The house fell on her, cried Dorothy. What can I do?

Nothing, said the old woman.

She was a bad witch, and for many years she made the Munchkins her servants.

They are the people of the East, and I'm their friend.

I'm the Witch of the North.

But witches are wicked, said Dorothy, a little afraid.

Not all of them. There are four in the country of Oz.

Two good ones, me and the Witch of the South, and two wicked ones,

the Witch of the West, and the Witch of the East.

Now you have killed the Witch of the East. These silver shoes are yours.

She picked them up and gave them to Dorothy.

Thank you, said Dorothy, but I want to go back to my aunt and uncle in Kansas.

Can you help me?

Go to the city of Emeralds, said the Witch.

Oz, the great wizard, lives there. He can help you.

The road to the city is made of yellow bricks. You can't lose your way.

Dorothy went into the house with Toto. She took a little basket and put some bread in it.

Then she put on the silver shoes.

Let's go and find the wizard Toto, she said.

Dorothy and Toto soon found the yellow brick road and walked along it.

After a few miles, Dorothy stopped and sat down on a fence beside the road.

Behind the fence was a big field, and in it was a scarecrow on a stick.

Toto saw it and barked.

Good day, said the scarecrow. Where are you going?

Good day, replied Dorothy.

I'm going to the Emerald city to see the great Oz and ask him to send me back to Kansas.

Where is the Emerald city and who is Oz, asked the scarecrow?

You live here, don't you know, asked Dorothy?

I don't know anything, don't you see? I have no brain, just straw, replied the scarecrow.

Oh, I'm sorry, poor scarecrow, said Dorothy.

Come with me to the Emerald city and ask the great Oz for some brain.

They started walking along the yellow brick road together.

Toto did not like Dorothy's new friend at first, and he barked at him.

Don't be afraid, said Dorothy. He won't give you any harm.

I'm not afraid, said the scarecrow. He can't hurt me. I'm only made of straw.

I'm only afraid of one thing, and that's fire.

And give me your basket. I can't get tired.

Oh, I see, said Dorothy, and gave the scarecrow her basket.

The yellow brick road took them through a forest. It began to get dark.

I can't see the road anymore, said Dorothy.

Look, said the scarecrow.

There is a little house. Let's go there.

It was a pretty small house. There was nobody in it.

Dorothy lay down on a bed of dry leaves with Toto beside her and slept.

The scarecrow was never tired or hungry or thirsty.

He just stood and waited for the morning.

When Dorothy opened her eyes, it was sunny. She found water and washed her face.

She and Toto ate some of their bread.

Suddenly, they heard a cry. It was coming from the woods.

Let's go and take a look, said the scarecrow. He wasn't afraid of anything.

There was a man made of tin outside the house.

Toto tried to bite him, but he just hurt his teeth.

Oh, please get my oil can and oil me. It is in the house, the man cried.

Dorothy ran to the little house and brought the oil can.

She and the scarecrow oiled the tin man.

Now I'm as good as new. Thank you, the tin man said.

What are you doing here?

We are on our way to the Emerald City to see the great Oz answer, Dorothy.

I want to go back to Kansas, and the scarecrow wants some brain for himself.

The tin man thought for a while, then talked.

The wicked witch of the East made me like this.

I can cut down trees as well as ever, but I have no heart.

Can the great Oz give me a heart?

Let's ask him, said Dorothy.

So the tin man picked up his axe, put his oil case in Dorothy's basket,

and started along the yellow brick road through the forest with his new friends.

As they walked through the forest, they heard animal noises among the trees.

Just then, a great lion jumped out at them.

Toto began to bark loudly.

The lion was afraid of Toto.

You are just a great big coward, said Dorothy.

You cannot frighten us.

The lion looked very sad.

I know, he said.

I make a lot of noise, and everybody is afraid of me.

But I don't have courage.

I'm a coward.

Then Dorothy told him about the Wizard of Oz and asked him to come with them.

The Wizard of Oz can give you courage.

Let's ask him, she said.

So they all walked along the yellow brick road.

The lion and Toto were soon good friends.

In the morning, they came to a great ditch across the road.

What will we do, asked Dorothy?

I don't know, said the tin man.

I can jump over it, I think, said the lion.

Then you can carry us across on your back one at a time, said the scarecrow.

Well, I can try, said the lion.

Who wants to go first?

I do, said the scarecrow.

Nothing can hurt me, so I'm not afraid.

The scarecrow sat on the lion's back and the lion jumped to the other side.

Then he took Dorothy next, Toto, in her arms.

After that, the lion went back and brought the tin man.

They started again along the yellow brick road through green fields.

The houses were green too, and the people wore emerald green clothes.

I think we are near the Emerald City, said Dorothy.

Soon they saw a beautiful green light in the sky in front of them.

There was a great wall around the city.

In it was a big green gate, and the emeralds on it shone in the sun.

Here we are, said Dorothy.

Dorothy rang the bell.

The big gate opened, and they all went through into a high green room.

There stood a little man in green clothes.

His face too was green, and he carried a big green box.

What do you want, he asked them?

We want to see the great Oz, said Dorothy.

Come this way, said the green man, and took them into the streets of the bright and beautiful city.

Everything in the city was green.

They stopped in front of a bright green building.

A green soldier stood at the door.

We want to see the great Oz, said Dorothy, to the soldier.

Wait here, said the soldier, and he left.

After an hour the soldier came back.

Did you see Oz as Dorothy?

Oh no, said the soldier.

He stays behind a tall screen, and we never see him.

But I spoke to him.

He will see one of you each day.

Now I'm going to take you to your rooms.

The next morning, after breakfast, the soldier took Dorothy and Toto to the throne room.

In the middle of the room was a tall green throne.

On it was a great head without arms or legs.

The eyes looked at Dorothy.

The mouth opened and a voice said, I am the wizard of Oz.

Who are you and what do you want?

The eyes looked at her for a minute.

Then the voice said, where did you get those silver shoes?

From the Wicked Witch of the East, answered Dorothy.

What do you want me to do?

Please send me back to Kansas, to Aunt M and Uncle Henry.

Why do you ask me?

You were strong enough to kill the Wicked Witch of the East, said Oz.

I didn't, said Dorothy.

My house fell on her.

Well, said Oz, in this country everybody must pay for things.

Kill the Wicked Witch of the West for me.

Then you can go back to Kansas.

Slowly and sadly, Dorothy left the throne room and cried.

The next morning the soldier took the scarecrow to the throne room.

On the throne sat a beautiful woman.

Her clothes were all green and bright with emeralds.

I am the wizard of Oz, she said.

Who are you and what do you want from me?

I am a scarecrow, full of straw.

I have come to ask you for some brain.

Well, said Oz.

In this country everybody must pay for things.

Kill the Wicked Witch of the West for me.

Then you can have brain.

The scarecrow went sadly back to his friends and told them what Oz wanted.

The next morning the soldier took the tin man to the throne room.

On the throne this time was a terrible ugly animal.

Its head was as big as an elephant but it had five bright green eyes.

I am a tin man and I have no heart, said the tin man.

Please give me a heart like other men.

Kill the Wicked Witch of the West for me.

Then you can have the kindest heart in the world, said the animal.

The next day was the lion's turn.

This time there was a great ball of fire on the throne.

The lion asked Oz to give him courage but Oz said exactly the same thing as it did to his friends.

The lion went sadly back to his friends.

Well, said Dorothy, we have to find this Wicked Witch of the West.

The four friends left the Emerald City behind.

The Wicked Witch of the West had only one eye but that I saw everything.

And from her castle she saw Dorothy and her friends a long way away.

She called forty grey wolves and said, go and bite them into little pieces.

The scarecrow and the tin man heard the noise of the wolves.

This is my fight, said the tin man, get behind me.

The wolves couldn't bite the tin man.

He took his axe and killed the wolves one after another.

The witch was angry.

She called her bees.

Sting them all, she shouted, and the bees flew off.

The scarecrow saw the bees coming.

Take my straw and hide Dorothy.

Toto and the lion, he said to the tin man.

The bees came and tried to sting the scarecrow, but nothing happened to the scarecrow.

Then they tried to sting the tin man.

They all broke their stings and died.

Then Dorothy, Toto and the lion got up and put the straw back in the scarecrow again.

The witch was very angry.

She took a magic cap out of the cupboard and shouted,

flying monkeys, come and get them to me.

She pointed at the four friends.

Dorothy and her friends didn't see the monkeys flying down on them.

The flying monkeys took the four friends and fly to the castle of the witch.

The witch threw the tin man from the cliff down onto hard stones.

Then she caught the scarecrow and pulled out all his straw.

She threw his empty clothes to a tall tree.

Suddenly the witch saw Dorothy's silver shoes.

I cannot hurt her, she thought, but she doesn't know about their magic.

I can make her my servant.

I won't kill you, she said.

Come to my kitchen and clean the pots and the pans.

Then she turned to the lion and said, you are going to pull a cart for me.

The witch wanted Dorothy's silver shoes very much.

Dorothy did not know this, but they were magic.

Dorothy only took them off to sleep or to have a bath.

The witch was afraid of the dark, so she could not go into Dorothy's room at night to take the shoes.

One day, when Dorothy was having a bath, the witch tried to steal the silver shoes.

They were just beside Dorothy near a pot of water.

Dorothy saw the witch taking her shoes and screamed.

The witch tried to hurry out of the bathroom, but she stepped on a soap and fell in the pot of water.

Help! cried the witch.

The water will kill me.

Soon there was nothing left of her.

There were only the silver shoes on the floor.

Dorothy picked her shoes up, dried them, and put them on again.

She found the lion and told him what happened.

If the witch is dead, Oz will help us, the lion said.

Let's go and find the Tin Man and the Scarecrow.

They found the Tin Man broken into pieces.

They worked for days and nights to repair him.

Soon the Tin Man got up and did a little dance.

I am as good as new, he said.

Now, let's find the Scarecrow.

They saw the Scarecrow's clothes at the top of a tall tree.

The Tin Man cut the tree down.

They filled the clothes with new straw, and soon the Scarecrow was alive again.

They all together went to the bright green city and entered the throne room to meet the great Oz.

But the room was empty.

A voice came from somewhere behind a scream.

I am the great Oz.

What do you want from me?

The voice said.

We killed the Wicked Witch of the West, said Dorothy.

Now, please keep your promise.

Come again tomorrow.

I need time, said the voice.

Time, why do you need time, asked the Tin Man?

We aren't going to wait another minute, said the Scarecrow.

You must keep your promise, said Dorothy.

We kept ours.

The lion was very angry.

He ran across the room and knocked over the tall scream.

Behind it was a little old man.

Who are you, shouted the Tin Man, and he picked up his axe.

I am Oz, said the little old man.

Please don't hit me, kind friend.

You see, I'm not a wizard.

Not a wizard.

Then you won't give me a heart, said the Tin Man angrily.

Then you can't give me a brain, said Scarecrow, in a sad voice.

What about my courage, asked the lion.

You already have what you want, said the little old man.

But you don't know that.

Okay, I will give you what you want.

He took some of the straw out of the Scarecrow's head and put in small pieces of wood.

There, he said, you are much more clever now.

Scarecrow ran to show his friends.

He was happy with his new brain.

I'm going to cut a hole in your left side.

It won't hurt, Oz told the Tin Man.

He went to the cupboard and took out a pretty cup like a heart.

He put the heart in the Tin Man's left side.

It's a very kind heart, he said.

The Tin Man was very happy having a kind heart.

Next, Oz took a green bottle out of his pocket and gave it to the lion.

Drink this, he said.

This will make you full of courage.

The lion drank the bottle in a second and felt the courage inside him.

Nothing can scare me now, he roared.

What about me, asked Dorothy.

How can I go back to Kansas?

You don't need my help, said the little old man.

You have the magic silver shoes.

They can carry you anywhere.

Just jump three times and tell the shoes to take you there.

Oh, I never knew, said Dorothy.

She took Toto in her arms.

She gave each of her friends a kiss and said goodbye.

She jumped three times and said,

Take me to Uncle Henry and Aunt Em in Kansas.

They flew through the air with the wind in their ears and came down just in front of Uncle Henry's house.

Home at last, said Dorothy.

Shall I tell my story to Uncle Henry and Aunt Em?

Toto barked.

Yes, you're right, Toto, Dorothy said.

They won't believe me.

Let's keep it a secret between you and me.