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                             The WONDERFUL
                                 WIZARD
                                   OF
                                   OZ

                            BY L. Frank Baum

                             W. W. Denslow.

[Illustration]

                            Geo. M. Hill Co.
                               New York.




                             INTRODUCTION.


Folk lore, legends, myths and fairy tales have followed childhood
through the ages, for every healthy youngster has a wholesome and
instinctive love for stories fantastic, marvelous and manifestly
unreal. The winged fairies of Grimm and Andersen have brought more
happiness to childish hearts than all other human creations.

Yet the old-time fairy tale, having served for generations, may
now be classed as "historical" in the children's library; for the
time has come for a series of newer "wonder tales" in which the
stereotyped genie, dwarf and fairy are