"Where did you get the mark upon your forehead?" continued the
voice.
"That is where the Good Witch of the North kissed me when she
bade me good-bye and sent me to you," said the girl.
Again the eyes looked at her sharply, and they saw she was
telling the truth. Then Oz asked, "What do you wish me to do?"
"Send me back to Kansas, where my Aunt Em and Uncle Henry are,"
she answered earnestly. "I don't like your country, although it is
so beautiful. And I am sure Aunt Em will be dreadfully worried over
my being away so long."
The eyes winked three times, and then they turned up to the
ceiling and down to the floor and rolled around so queerly that
they seemed to see every part of the room. And at last they looked
at Dorothy again.
"Why should I do this for you?" asked Oz.
"Because you are strong and I am weak; because you are a Great
Wizard and I am only a little girl."
"But you were strong enough to kill the Wicked Witch of the
East," said Oz.
"That just happened," returned Dorothy simply; "I could not help
it."
"Well," said the Head, "I will give you my answer. You have no
right to expect me to send you back to Kansas unless you do
something for me in return. In this country everyone must pay for
everything he gets. If you wish me to use my magic power to send
you home again you must do something for me first. Help me and I
will help you."
"What must I do?" asked the girl.
"Kill the Wicked Witch of the West," answered Oz.
"But I cannot!" exclaimed Dorothy, greatly surprised.
"You killed the Witch of the East and you wear the silver shoes,
which bear a powerful charm. There is now but one Wicked Witch left
in all this land, and when you can tell me she is dead I will send
you back to Kansas—but not before."
The little girl began to weep, she was so much disappointed; and
the eyes winked again and looked upon her anxiously, as if the
Great Oz felt that she could help him if she would.
"I never killed anything, willingly," she sobbed. "Even if I
wanted to, how could I kill the Wicked Witch? If you, who are Greatwanted to, how could I kill the Wicked Witch? If you, who are Great
and Terrible, cannot kill her yourself, how do you expect me to do
it?"
"I do not know," said the Head; "but that is my answer, and
until the Wicked Witch dies you will not see your uncle and aunt
again. Remember that the Witch is Wicked—tremendously Wicked -and
ought to be killed. Now go, and do not ask to see me again until
you have done your task."
Sorrowfully Dorothy left the Throne Room and went back where the
Lion and the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman were waiting to hear
what Oz had said to her. "There is no hope for me," she said sadly,
"for Oz will not send me home until I have killed the Wicked Witch
of the West; and that I can never do."
Her friends were sorry, but could do nothing to help her; so
Dorothy went to her own room and lay down on the bed and cried
herself to sleep.
The next morning the soldier with the green whiskers came to the
Scarecrow and said:
"Come with me, for Oz has sent for you."
So the Scarecrow followed him and was admitted into the great
Throne Room, where he saw, sitting in the emerald throne, a most
lovely Lady. She was dressed in green silk gauze and wore upon her
flowing green locks a crown of jewels. Growing from her shoulders
were wings, gorgeous in color and so light that they fluttered if
the slightest breath of air reached them.
When the Scarecrow had bowed, as prettily as his straw stuffing
would let him, before this beautiful creature, she looked upon him
sweetly, and said:
"I am Oz, the Great and Terrible. Who are you, and why do you
seek me?"
Now the Scarecrow, who had expected to see the great Head
Dorothy had told him of, was much astonished; but he answered her
bravely.
"I am only a Scarecrow, stuffed with straw. Therefore I have no
brains, and I come to you praying that you will put brains in my
head instead of straw, so that I may become as much a man as any
other in your dominions."
"Why should I do this for you?" asked the Lady.
"Because you are wise and powerful, and no one else can help"Because you are wise and powerful, and no one else can help
me," answered the Scarecrow.
"I never grant favors without some return," said Oz; "but this
much I will promise. If you will kill for me the Wicked Witch of
the West, I will bestow upon you a great many brains, and such good
brains that you will be the wisest man in all the Land of Oz."
"I thought you asked Dorothy to kill the Witch," said the
Scarecrow, in surprise.
"So I did. I don't care who kills her. But until she is dead I
will not grant your wish. Now go, and do not seek me again until
you have earned the brains you so greatly desire."
The Scarecrow went sorrowfully back to his friends and told them
what Oz had said; and Dorothy was surprised to find that the Great
Wizard was not a Head, as she had seen him, but a lovely Lady.
"All the same," said the Scarecrow, "she needs a heart as much
as the Tin Woodman."
On the next morning the soldier with the green whiskers came to
the Tin Woodman and said:
"Oz has sent for you. Follow me."
So the Tin Woodman followed him and came to the great Throne
Room. He did not know whether he would find Oz a lovely Lady or a
Head, but he hoped it would be the lovely Lady. "For," he said to
himself, "if it is the head, I am sure I shall not be given a
heart, since a head has no heart of its own and therefore cannot
feel for me. But if it is the lovely Lady I shall beg hard for a
heart, for all ladies are themselves said to be kindly
hearted."
But when the Woodman entered the great Throne Room he saw
neither the Head nor the Lady, for Oz had taken the shape of a most
terrible Beast. It was nearly as big as an elephant, and the green
throne seemed hardly strong enough to hold its weight. The Beast
had a head like that of a rhinoceros, only there were five eyes in
its face. There were five long arms growing out of its body, and it
also had five long, slim legs. Thick, woolly hair covered every
part of it, and a more dreadful-looking monster could not be
imagined. It was fortunate the Tin Woodman had no heart at that