The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum (short books for teens .TXT) ๐
Description
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is the classic American childrenโs 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 โAmericaโs greatest and best-loved homegrown fairy-tale.โ 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.
Read free book ยซThe Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum (short books for teens .TXT) ๐ยป - read online or download for free at americanlibrarybooks.com
- Author: L. Frank Baum
Read book online ยซThe Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum (short books for teens .TXT) ๐ยป. Author - L. Frank Baum
โIโm pretty well, thank you,โ replied Dorothy politely. โHow do you do?โ
โIโm not feeling well,โ said the Scarecrow, with a smile, โfor it is very tedious being perched up here night and day to scare away crows.โ
โCanโt you get down?โ asked Dorothy.
โNo, for this pole is stuck up my back. If you will please take away the pole I shall be greatly obliged to you.โ
Dorothy reached up both arms and lifted the figure off the pole, for, being stuffed with straw, it was quite light.
โThank you very much,โ said the Scarecrow, when he had been set down on the ground. โI feel like a new man.โ
Dorothy was puzzled at this, for it sounded queer to hear a stuffed man speak, and to see him bow and walk along beside her.
โWho are you?โ asked the Scarecrow when he had stretched himself and yawned. โAnd where are you going?โ
โMy name is Dorothy,โ said the girl, โand I am going to the Emerald City, to ask the Great Oz to send me back to Kansas.โ
โWhere is the Emerald City?โ he inquired. โAnd who is Oz?โ
โWhy, donโt you know?โ she returned, in surprise.
โNo, indeed. I donโt know anything. You see, I am stuffed, so I have no brains at all,โ he answered sadly.
โOh,โ said Dorothy, โIโm awfully sorry for you.โ
โDo you think,โ he asked, โif I go to the Emerald City with you, that Oz would give me some brains?โ
โI cannot tell,โ she returned, โbut you may come with me, if you like. If Oz will not give you any brains you will be no worse off than you are now.โ
โThat is true,โ said the Scarecrow. โYou see,โ he continued confidentially, โI donโt mind my legs and arms and body being stuffed, because I cannot get hurt. If anyone treads on my toes or sticks a pin into me, it doesnโt matter, for I canโt feel it. But I do not want people to call me a fool, and if my head stays stuffed with straw instead of with brains, as yours is, how am I ever to know anything?โ
โI understand how you feel,โ said the little girl, who was truly sorry for him. โIf you will come with me Iโll ask Oz to do all he can for you.โ
โThank you,โ he answered gratefully.
They walked back to the road. Dorothy helped him over the fence, and they started along the path of yellow brick for the Emerald City.
Toto did not like this addition to the party at first. He smelled around the stuffed man as if he suspected there might be a nest of rats in the straw, and he often growled in an unfriendly way at the Scarecrow.
โDonโt mind Toto,โ said Dorothy to her new friend. โHe never bites.โ
โOh, Iโm not afraid,โ replied the Scarecrow. โHe canโt hurt the straw. Do let me carry that basket for you. I shall not mind it, for I canโt get tired. Iโll tell you a secret,โ he continued, as he walked along. โThere is only one thing in the world I am afraid of.โ
โWhat is that?โ asked Dorothy; โthe Munchkin farmer who made you?โ
โNo,โ answered the Scarecrow; โitโs a lighted match.โ
IV The Road Through the ForestAfter a few hours the road began to be rough, and the walking grew so difficult that the Scarecrow often stumbled over the yellow bricks, which were here very uneven. Sometimes, indeed, they were broken or missing altogether, leaving holes that Toto jumped across and Dorothy walked around. As for the Scarecrow, having no brains, he walked straight ahead, and so stepped into the holes and fell at full length on the hard bricks. It never hurt him, however, and Dorothy would pick him up and set him upon his feet again, while he joined her in laughing merrily at his own mishap.
The farms were not nearly so well cared for here as they were farther back. There were fewer houses and fewer fruit trees, and the farther they went the more dismal and lonesome the country became.
At noon they sat down by the roadside, near a little brook, and Dorothy opened her basket and got out some bread. She offered a piece to the Scarecrow, but he refused.
โI am never hungry,โ he said, โand it is a lucky thing I am not, for my mouth is only painted, and if I should cut a hole in it so I could eat, the straw I am stuffed with would come out, and that would spoil the shape of my head.โ
Dorothy saw at once that this was true, so she only nodded and went on eating her bread.
โTell me something about yourself and the country you came from,โ said the Scarecrow, when she had finished her dinner. So she told him all about Kansas, and how gray everything was there, and how the cyclone had carried her to this queer Land of Oz.
The Scarecrow listened carefully, and said, โI cannot understand why you should wish to leave this beautiful country and go back to the dry, gray place you call Kansas.โ
โThat is because you have no brainsโ answered the girl. โNo matter how dreary and gray our homes are, we people of flesh and blood would rather live there than in any other country, be it ever so beautiful. There is no place like home.โ
The Scarecrow sighed.
โOf course I cannot understand it,โ he said. โIf your heads were stuffed with straw, like mine, you would probably all live in the beautiful places, and then Kansas would have no people at all. It is fortunate for Kansas that you have brains.โ
โWonโt you tell me a story, while we are resting?โ asked the child.
The Scarecrow looked at her reproachfully, and answered:
โMy life has been so short that I really know nothing whatever. I was only made day before yesterday. What happened in the world before that time is all unknown to me. Luckily, when the farmer made my head, one of the
Comments (0)