emeralds. The soldier made them all wipe their feet upon a green
mat before entering this room, and when they were seated he said
politely:
"Please make yourselves comfortable while I go to the door of
the Throne Room and tell Oz you are here."
They had to wait a long time before the soldier returned. When,
at last, he came back, Dorothy asked:
"Have you seen Oz?"
"Oh, no," returned the soldier; "I have never seen him. But I
spoke to him as he sat behind his screen and gave him your message.
He said he will grant you an audience, if you so desire; but each
one of you must enter his presence alone, and he will admit but one
each day. Therefore, as you must remain in the Palace for several
days, I will have you shown to rooms where you may rest in comfort
after your journey."
"Thank you," replied the girl; "that is very kind of Oz."
The soldier now blew upon a green whistle, and at once a young
girl, dressed in a pretty green silk gown, entered the room. She
had lovely green hair and green eyes, and she bowed low before
Dorothy as she said, "Follow me and I will show you your room."
So Dorothy said good-bye to all her friends except Toto, and
taking the dog in her arms followed the green girl through seven
passages and up three flights of stairs until they came to a room
at the front of the Palace. It was the sweetest little room in the
world, with a soft comfortable bed that had sheets of green silk
and a green velvet counterpane. There was a tiny fountain in the
middle of the room, that shot a spray of green perfume into the
air, to fall back into a beautifully carved green marble basin.
Beautiful green flowers stood in the windows, and there was a shelf
with a row of little green books. When Dorothy had time to open
these books she found them full of queer green pictures that made
her laugh, they were so funny.
In a wardrobe were many green dresses, made of silk and satin
and velvet; and all of them fitted Dorothy exactly.
"Make yourself perfectly at home," said the green girl, "and if"Make yourself perfectly at home," said the green girl, "and if
you wish for anything ring the bell. Oz will send for you tomorrow
morning."
She left Dorothy alone and went back to the others. These she
also led to rooms, and each one of them found himself lodged in a
very pleasant part of the Palace. Of course this politeness was
wasted on the Scarecrow; for when he found himself alone in his
room he stood stupidly in one spot, just within the doorway, to
wait till morning. It would not rest him to lie down, and he could
not close his eyes; so he remained all night staring at a little
spider which was weaving its web in a corner of the room, just as
if it were not one of the most wonderful rooms in the world. The
Tin Woodman lay down on his bed from force of habit, for he
remembered when he was made of flesh; but not being able to sleep,
he passed the night moving his joints up and down to make sure they
kept in good working order. The Lion would have preferred a bed of
dried leaves in the forest, and did not like being shut up in a
room; but he had too much sense to let this worry him, so he sprang
upon the bed and rolled himself up like a cat and purred himself
asleep in a minute.
The next morning, after breakfast, the green maiden came to
fetch Dorothy, and she dressed her in one of the prettiest gowns,
made of green brocaded satin. Dorothy put on a green silk apron and
tied a green ribbon around Toto's neck, and they started for the
Throne Room of the Great Oz.
First they came to a great hall in which were many ladies and
gentlemen of the court, all dressed in rich costumes. These people
had nothing to do but talk to each other, but they always came to
wait outside the Throne Room every morning, although they were
never permitted to see Oz. As Dorothy entered they looked at her
curiously, and one of them whispered:
"Are you really going to look upon the face of Oz the
Terrible?"
"Of course," answered the girl, "if he will see me."
"Oh, he will see you," said the soldier who had taken her"Oh, he will see you," said the soldier who had taken her
message to the Wizard, "although he does not like to have people
ask to see him. Indeed, at first he was angry and said I should
send you back where you came from. Then he asked me what you looked
like, and when I mentioned your silver shoes he was very much
interested. At last I told him about the mark upon your forehead,
and he decided he would admit you to his presence."
Just then a bell rang, and the green girl said to Dorothy, "That
is the signal. You must go into the Throne Room alone."
She opened a little door and Dorothy walked boldly through and
found herself in a wonderful place. It was a big, round room with a
high arched roof, and the walls and ceiling and floor were covered
with large emeralds set closely together. In the center of the roof
was a great light, as bright as the sun, which made the emeralds
sparkle in a wonderful manner.
But what interested Dorothy most was the big throne of green
marble that stood in the middle of the room. It was shaped like a
chair and sparkled with gems, as did everything else. In the center
of the chair was an enormous Head, without a body to support it or
any arms or legs whatever. There was no hair upon this head, but it
had eyes and a nose and mouth, and was much bigger than the head of
the biggest giant.
As Dorothy gazed upon this in wonder and fear, the eyes turned
slowly and looked at her sharply and steadily. Then the mouth
moved, and Dorothy heard a voice say:
"I am Oz, the Great and Terrible. Who are you, and why do you
seek me?"
It was not such an awful voice as she had expected to come from
the big Head; so she took courage and answered:
"I am Dorothy, the Small and Meek. I have come to you for
help."
The eyes looked at her thoughtfully for a full minute. Then said
the voice:
"Where did you get the silver shoes?"
"I got them from the Wicked Witch of the East, when my house
fell on her and killed her," she replied.
"Where did you get the mark upon your forehead?" continued the
voice.