The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum (short books for teens .TXT) π
Description
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is the classic American childrenβs novel about the adventures of Dorothy, a young girl who along with her dog Toto is swept away by a cyclone to the magical Land of Oz. It was written by L. Frank Baum and published in May 1900.
Dorothy lives with her Aunt Em, Uncle Henry, and Toto on a farm in the Kansas prairie. One day, Dorothy and Toto are caught up in a cyclone that deposits her farmhouse into Munchkin Country in the magical Land of Oz. The falling house has killed the Wicked Witch of the East, the evil ruler of the Munchkins. The Good Witch of the North arrives with three grateful Munchkins and gives Dorothy the magical Silver Shoes that once belonged to the Wicked Witch. The Good Witch tells Dorothy that the only way she can return home is to go to the Emerald City and ask the great and powerful Wizard of Oz to help her.
The Library of Congress has declared it βAmericaβs greatest and best-loved homegrown fairy-tale.β Its groundbreaking success and the success of the Broadway musical adaptation led Baum to write thirteen additional Oz books which serve as sequels to the first story. The 1939 film musical adaptation starring Judy Garland is considered by many to be one of the greatest films in cinema history.
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- Author: L. Frank Baum
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The soldier then left them and the Scarecrow said:
βIt seems, in spite of dangers, that the best thing Dorothy can do is to travel to the Land of the South and ask Glinda to help her. For, of course, if Dorothy stays here she will never get back to Kansas.β
βYou must have been thinking again,β remarked the Tin Woodman.
βI have,β said the Scarecrow.
βI shall go with Dorothy,β declared the Lion, βfor I am tired of your city and long for the woods and the country again. I am really a wild beast, you know. Besides, Dorothy will need someone to protect her.β
βThat is true,β agreed the Woodman. βMy axe may be of service to her; so I also will go with her to the Land of the South.β
βWhen shall we start?β asked the Scarecrow.
βAre you going?β they asked, in surprise.
βCertainly. If it wasnβt for Dorothy I should never have had brains. She lifted me from the pole in the cornfield and brought me to the Emerald City. So my good luck is all due to her, and I shall never leave her until she starts back to Kansas for good and all.β
βThank you,β said Dorothy gratefully. βYou are all very kind to me. But I should like to start as soon as possible.β
βWe shall go tomorrow morning,β returned the Scarecrow. βSo now let us all get ready, for it will be a long journey.β
XIX Attacked by the Fighting TreesThe next morning Dorothy kissed the pretty green girl goodbye, and they all shook hands with the soldier with the green whiskers, who had walked with them as far as the gate. When the Guardian of the Gate saw them again he wondered greatly that they could leave the beautiful City to get into new trouble. But he at once unlocked their spectacles, which he put back into the green box, and gave them many good wishes to carry with them.
βYou are now our ruler,β he said to the Scarecrow; βso you must come back to us as soon as possible.β
βI certainly shall if I am able,β the Scarecrow replied; βbut I must help Dorothy to get home, first.β
As Dorothy bade the good-natured Guardian a last farewell she said:
βI have been very kindly treated in your lovely City, and everyone has been good to me. I cannot tell you how grateful I am.β
βDonβt try, my dear,β he answered. βWe should like to keep you with us, but if it is your wish to return to Kansas, I hope you will find a way.β He then opened the gate of the outer wall, and they walked forth and started upon their journey.
The sun shone brightly as our friends turned their faces toward the Land of the South. They were all in the best of spirits, and laughed and chatted together. Dorothy was once more filled with the hope of getting home, and the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman were glad to be of use to her. As for the Lion, he sniffed the fresh air with delight and whisked his tail from side to side in pure joy at being in the country again, while Toto ran around them and chased the moths and butterflies, barking merrily all the time.
βCity life does not agree with me at all,β remarked the Lion, as they walked along at a brisk pace. βI have lost much flesh since I lived there, and now I am anxious for a chance to show the other beasts how courageous I have grown.β
They now turned and took a last look at the Emerald City. All they could see was a mass of towers and steeples behind the green walls, and high up above everything the spires and dome of the Palace of Oz.
βOz was not such a bad Wizard, after all,β said the Tin Woodman, as he felt his heart rattling around in his breast.
βHe knew how to give me brains, and very good brains, too,β said the Scarecrow.
βIf Oz had taken a dose of the same courage he gave me,β added the Lion, βhe would have been a brave man.β
Dorothy said nothing. Oz had not kept the promise he made her, but he had done his best, so she forgave him. As he said, he was a good man, even if he was a bad Wizard.
The first dayβs journey was through the green fields and bright flowers that stretched about the Emerald City on every side. They slept that night on the grass, with nothing but the stars over them; and they rested very well indeed.
In the morning they traveled on until they came to a thick wood. There was no way of going around it, for it seemed to extend to the right and left as far as they could see; and, besides, they did not dare change the direction of their journey for fear of getting lost. So they looked for the place where it would be easiest to get into the forest.
The Scarecrow, who was in the lead, finally discovered a big tree with such wide-spreading branches that there was room for the party to pass underneath. So he walked forward to the tree, but just as he came under the first branches they bent down and twined around him, and the next minute he was raised from the ground and flung headlong among his fellow travelers.
This did not hurt the Scarecrow, but it surprised him, and he looked rather dizzy when Dorothy picked him up.
βHere is another space between the trees,β called the Lion.
βLet me try it first,β said the Scarecrow, βfor it doesnβt hurt me to get thrown about.β He walked up to another tree, as he spoke, but its branches immediately seized him and tossed him back again.
βThis is strange,β exclaimed Dorothy. βWhat shall we do?β
βThe trees seem to have made up their minds to
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