willingly and well. Then I thought, as the country was so green and
beautiful, I would call it the Emerald City; and to make the name
fit better I put green spectacles on all the people, so that
everything they saw was green."
"But isn't everything here green?" asked Dorothy.
"No more than in any other city," replied Oz; "but when you wear
green spectacles, why of course everything you see looks green to
you. The Emerald City was built a great many years ago, for I was a
young man when the balloon brought me here, and I am a very old man
now. But my people have worn green glasses on their eyes so long
that most of them think it really is an Emerald City, and it
certainly is a beautiful place, abounding in jewels and precious
metals, and every good thing that is needed to make one happy. I
have been good to the people, and they like me; but ever since this
Palace was built, I have shut myself up and would not see any of
them.
"One of my greatest fears was the Witches, for while I had no
magical powers at all I soon found out that the Witches were really
able to do wonderful things. There were four of them in this
country, and they ruled the people who live in the North and South
and East and West. Fortunately, the Witches of the North and South
were good, and I knew they would do me no harm; but the Witches of
the East and West were terribly wicked, and had they not thought I
was more powerful than they themselves, they would surely have
destroyed me. As it was, I lived in deadly fear of them for many
years; so you can imagine how pleased I was when I heard your house
had fallen on the Wicked Witch of the East. When you came to me, I
was willing to promise anything if you would only do away with the
other Witch; but, now that you have melted her, I am ashamed to say
that I cannot keep my promises."
"I think you are a very bad man," said Dorothy.
"Oh, no, my dear; I'm really a very good man, but I'm a very bad
Wizard, I must admit."
"Can't you give me brains?" asked the Scarecrow.Wizard, I must admit."
"Can't you give me brains?" asked the Scarecrow.
"You don't need them. You are learning something every day. A
baby has brains, but it doesn't know much. Experience is the only
thing that brings knowledge, and the longer you are on earth the
more experience you are sure to get."
"That may all be true," said the Scarecrow, "but I shall be very
unhappy unless you give me brains."
The false Wizard looked at him carefully.
"Well," he said with a sigh, "I'm not much of a magician, as I
said; but if you will come to me tomorrow morning, I will stuff
your head with brains. I cannot tell you how to use them, however;
you must find that out for yourself."
"Oh, thank you—thank you!" cried the Scarecrow. "I'll find a way
to use them, never fear!"
"But how about my courage?" asked the Lion anxiously.
"You have plenty of courage, I am sure," answered Oz. "All you
need is confidence in yourself. There is no living thing that is
not afraid when it faces danger. The True courage is in facing
danger when you are afraid, and that kind of courage you have in
plenty."
"Perhaps I have, but I'm scared just the same," said the Lion.
"I shall really be very unhappy unless you give me the sort of
courage that makes one forget he is afraid."
"Very well, I will give you that sort of courage tomorrow,"
replied Oz.
"How about my heart?" asked the Tin Woodman.
"Why, as for that," answered Oz, "I think you are wrong to want
a heart. It makes most people unhappy. If you only knew it, you are
in luck not to have a heart."
"That must be a matter of opinion," said the Tin Woodman. "For
my part, I will bear all the unhappiness without a murmur, if you
will give me the 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."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.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,