Chapter: Chapter XII. The Search for the Wicked Witch.


[Illustration]

[Illustration]

The soldier with the green whiskers led them through the streets of
the Emerald City until they reached the room where the Guardian of the
Gates lived. This officer unlocked their spectacles to put them back in
his great box, and then he politely opened the gate for our friends.

"Which road leads to the Wicked Witch of the West?" asked Dorothy.

"There is no road," answered the Guardian of the Gates; "no one ever
wishes to go that way."

"How, then, are we to find her?" enquired the girl.

[Illustration]

"That will be easy," replied the man; "for when she knows you are in
the Country of the Winkies she will find you, and make you all her
slaves."

"Perhaps not," said the Scarecrow, "for we mean to destroy her."

[Illustration]

"Oh, that is different," said the Guardian of the Gates. "No one has
ever destroyed her before, so I naturally thought she would make
slaves of you, as she has of all the rest. But take care; for she is
wicked and fierce, and may not allow you to destroy her. Keep to the
West, where the sun sets, and you cannot fail to find her."

They thanked him and bade him good-bye, and turned toward the West,
walking over fields of soft grass dotted here and there with daisies
and buttercups. Dorothy still wore the pretty silk dress she had
put on in the palace, but now, to her surprise, she found it was no
longer green, but pure white. The ribbon around Toto's neck had also
lost its green color and was as white as Dorothy's dress.

The Emerald City was soon left far behind. As they advanced the
ground became rougher and hillier, for there were no farms nor houses
in this country of the West, and the ground was untilled.

In the afternoon the sun shone hot in their faces, for there were no
trees to offer them shade; so that before night Dorothy and Toto and
the Lion were tired, and lay down upon the grass and fell asleep,
with the Woodman and the Scarecrow keeping watch.

Now the Wicked Witch of the West had but one eye, yet that was as
powerful as a telescope, and could see everywhere. So, as she sat in
the door of her castle, she happened to look around and saw Dorothy
lying asleep, with her friends all about her. They were a long
distance off, but the Wicked Witch was angry to find them in her
country; so she blew upon a silver whistle that hung around her neck.

At once there came running to her from all directions a pack of great
wolves. They had long legs and fierce eyes and sharp teeth.

"Go to those people," said the Witch, "and tear them to pieces."

"Are you not going to make them your slaves?" asked the leader of the
wolves.

"No," she answered, "one is of tin, and one of straw; one is a girl
and another a Lion. None of them is fit to work, so you may tear them
into small pieces."

"Very well," said the wolf, and he dashed away at full speed,
followed by the others.

It was lucky the Scarecrow and the Woodman were wide awake and heard
the wolves coming.

"This is my fight," said the Woodman; "so get behind me and I will
meet them as they come."

He seized his axe, which he had made very sharp, and as the leader
of the wolves came on the Tin Woodman swung his arm and chopped the
wolf's head from its body, so that it immediately died. As soon as he
could raise his axe another wolf came up, and he also fell under the
sharp edge of the Tin Woodman's weapon. There were forty wolves, and
forty times a wolf was killed; so that at last they all lay dead in a
heap before the Woodman.

Then he put down his axe and sat beside the Scarecrow, who said,

"It was a good fight, friend."

They waited until Dorothy awoke the next morning. The little girl was
quite frightened when she saw the great pile of shaggy wolves, but
the Tin Woodman told her all. She thanked him for saving them and sat
down to breakfast, after which they started again upon their journey.

[Illustration]

Now this same morning the Wicked Witch came to the door of her castle
and looked out with her one eye that could see afar off. She saw all
her wolves lying dead, and the strangers still travelling through her
country. This made her angrier than before, and she blew her silver
whistle twice.

Straightway a great flock of wild crows came flying toward her,
enough to darken the sky. And the Wicked Witch said to the King Crow,

"Fly at once to the strangers; peck out their eyes and tear them to
pieces."

The wild crows flew in one great flock toward Dorothy and her
companions. When the little girl saw them coming she was afraid. But
the Scarecrow said,

"This is my battle; so lie down beside me and you will not be harmed."

So they all lay upon the ground except the Scarecrow, and he stood
up and stretched out his arms. And when the crows saw him they were
frightened, as these birds always are by scarecrows, and did not dare
to come any nearer. But the King Crow said,

"It is only a stuffed man. I will peck his eyes out."

The King Crow flew at the Scarecrow, who caught it by the head and
twisted its neck until it died. And then another crow flew at him,
and the Scarecrow twisted its neck also. There were forty crows, and
forty times the Scarecrow twisted a neck, until at last all were
lying dead beside him. Then he called to his companions to rise, and
again they went upon their journey.

When the Wicked Witch looked out again and saw all her crows lying in
a heap, she got into a terrible rage, and blew three times upon her
silver whistle.

[Illustration]

Forthwith there was heard a great buzzing in the air, and a swarm
of black bees came flying towards her. "Go to the strangers and
sting them to death!" commanded the Witch, and the bees turned and
flew rapidly until they came to where Dorothy and her friends were
walking. But the Woodman had seen them coming and the Scarecrow had
decided what to do.

"Take out my straw and scatter it over the little girl and the dog
and the lion," he said to the Woodman, "and the bees cannot sting
them." This the Woodman did, and as Dorothy lay close beside the Lion
and held Toto in her arms, the straw covered them entirely.

The bees came and found no one but the Woodman to sting, so they
flew at him and broke off all their stings against the tin, without
hurting the Woodman at all. And as bees cannot live when their stings
are broken that was the end of the black bees, and they lay scattered
thick about the Woodman, like little heaps of fine coal.

Then Dorothy and the Lion got up, and the girl helped the Tin Woodman
put the straw back into the Scarecrow again, until he was as good as
ever. So they started upon their journey once more.

The Wicked Witch was so angry when she saw her black bees in little
heaps like fine coal that she stamped her foot and tore her hair and
gnashed her teeth. And then she called a dozen of her slaves, who
were the Winkies, and gave them sharp spears, telling them to go to
the strangers and destroy them.

The Winkies were not a brave people, but they had to do as they were
told; so they marched away until they came near to Dorothy. Then the
Lion gave a great roar and sprang toward them, and the poor Winkies
were so frightened that they ran back as fast as they could.

When they returned to the castle the Wicked Witch beat them well
with a strap, and sent them back to their work, after which she sat
down to think what she should do next. She could not understand how
all her plans to destroy these strangers had failed; but she was a
powerful Witch, as well as a wicked one, and she soon made up her
mind how to act.

[Illustration]

There was, in her cupboard, a Golden Cap, with a circle of diamonds and
rubies running round it. This Golden Cap had a charm. Whoever owned
it could call three times upon the Winged Monkeys, who would obey
any order they were given. But no person could command these strange
creatures more than three times. Twice already the Wicked Witch had
used the charm of the Cap. Once was when she had made the Winkies her
slaves, and set herself to rule over their country. The Winged Monkeys
had helped her do this. The second time was when she had fought against
the Great Oz himself, and driven him out of the land of the West. The
Winged Monkeys had also helped her in doing this. Only once more could
she use this Golden Cap, for which reason she did not like to do so
until all her other powers were exhausted. But now that her fierce
wolves and her wild crows and her stinging bees were gone, and her
slaves had been scared away by the Cowardly Lion, she saw there was
only one way left to destroy Dorothy and her friends.

[Illustration]

So the Wicked Witch took the Golden Cap from her cupboard and placed
it upon her head.

Then she stood upon her left foot and said, slowly, "Ep-pe, pep-pe,
kak-ke!"

Next she stood upon her right foot and said, "Hil-lo, hol-lo, hel-lo!"

After this she stood upon both feet and cried in a loud voice,
"Ziz-zy, zuz-zy, zik!"

Now the charm began to work. The sky was darkened, and a low
rumbling sound was heard in the air. There was a rushing of many
wings; a great chattering and laughing; and the sun came out of the
dark sky to show the Wicked Witch surrounded by a crowd of monkeys,
each with a pair of immense and powerful wings on his shoulders.

One, much bigger than the others, seemed to be their leader. He flew
close to the Witch and said,

"You have called us for the third and last time. What do you command?"

"Go to the strangers who are within my land and destroy them all
except the Lion," said the Wicked Witch. "Bring that beast to me, for
I have a mind to harness him like a horse, and make him work."

"Your commands shall be obeyed," said the leader; and then, with a
great deal of chattering and noise, the Winged Monkeys flew away to
the place where Dorothy and her friends were walking.

[Illustration]

Some of the Monkeys seized the Tin Woodman and carried him through
the air until they were over a country thickly covered with sharp
rocks. Here they dropped the poor Woodman, who fell a great distance
to the rocks, where he lay so battered and dented that he could
neither move nor groan.

Others of the Monkeys caught the Scarecrow, and with their long
fingers pulled all of the straw out of his clothes and head. They
made his hat and boots and clothes into a small bundle and threw it
into the top branches of a tall tree.

The remaining Monkeys threw pieces of stout rope around the Lion
and wound many coils about his body and head and legs, until he was
unable to bite or scratch or struggle in any way. Then they lifted
him up and flew away with him to the Witch's castle, where he was
placed in a small yard with a high iron fence around it, so that he
could not escape.

But Dorothy they did not harm at all. She stood, with Toto in her
arms, watching the sad fate of her comrades and thinking it would
soon be her turn. The leader of the Winged Monkeys flew up to her,
his long, hairy arms stretched out and his ugly face grinning
terribly; but he saw the mark of the Good Witch's kiss upon her
forehead and stopped short, motioning the others not to touch her.

[Illustration: "_The Monkeys wound many coils about his body._"]

"We dare not harm this little girl," he said to them, "for she is
protected by the Power of Good, and that is greater than the Power
of Evil. All we can do is to carry her to the castle of the Wicked
Witch and leave her there."

So, carefully and gently, they lifted Dorothy in their arms and
carried her swiftly through the air until they came to the castle,
where they set her down upon the front door step. Then the leader
said to the Witch,

"We have obeyed you as far as we were able. The Tin Woodman and the
Scarecrow are destroyed, and the Lion is tied up in your yard. The
little girl we dare not harm, nor the dog she carries in her arms. Your
power over our band is now ended, and you will never see us again."

Then all the Winged Monkeys, with much laughing and chattering and
noise, flew into the air and were soon out of sight.

[Illustration]

The Wicked Witch was both surprised and worried when she saw the mark
on Dorothy's forehead, for she knew well that neither the Winged
Monkeys nor she, herself, dare hurt the girl in any way. She looked
down at Dorothy's feet, and seeing the Silver Shoes, began to tremble
with fear, for she knew what a powerful charm belonged to them. At
first the Witch was tempted to run away from Dorothy; but she happened
to look into the child's eyes and saw how simple the soul behind them
was, and that the little girl did not know of the wonderful power the
Silver Shoes gave her. So the Wicked Witch laughed to herself, and
thought, "I can still make her my slave, for she does not know how to
use her power." Then she said to Dorothy, harshly and severely,

"Come with me; and see that you mind everything I tell you, for if
you do not I will make an end of you, as I did of the Tin Woodman and
the Scarecrow."

Dorothy followed her through many of the beautiful rooms in her castle
until they came to the kitchen, where the Witch bade her clean the pots
and kettles and sweep the floor and keep the fire fed with wood.

Dorothy went to work meekly, with her mind made up to work as hard as
she could; for she was glad the Wicked Witch had decided not to kill
her.

With Dorothy hard at work the Witch thought she would go into the
court-yard and harness the Cowardly Lion like a horse; it would amuse
her, she was sure, to make him draw her chariot whenever she wished
to go to drive. But as she opened the gate the Lion gave a loud roar
and bounded at her so fiercely that the Witch was afraid, and ran out
and shut the gate again.

"If I cannot harness you," said the Witch to the Lion, speaking
through the bars of the gate, "I can starve you. You shall have
nothing to eat until you do as I wish."

So after that she took no food to the imprisoned Lion; but every day
she came to the gate at noon and asked,

"Are you ready to be harnessed like a horse?"

And the Lion would answer,

"No. If you come in this yard I will bite you."

The reason the Lion did not have to do as the Witch wished was that
every night, while the woman was asleep Dorothy carried him food from
the cupboard. After he had eaten he would lie down on his bed of straw,
and Dorothy would lie beside him and put her head on his soft, shaggy
mane, while they talked of their troubles and tried to plan some way to
escape. But they could find no way to get out of the castle, for it was
constantly guarded by the yellow Winkies, who were the slaves of the
Wicked Witch and too afraid of her not to do as she told them.

The girl had to work hard during the day, and often the Witch
threatened to beat her with the same old umbrella she always carried in
her hand. But, in truth, she did not dare to strike Dorothy, because of
the mark upon her forehead. The child did not know this, and was full
of fear for herself and Toto. Once the Witch struck Toto a blow with
her umbrella and the brave little dog flew at her and bit her leg, in
return. The Witch did not bleed where she was bitten, for she was so
wicked that the blood in her had dried up many years before.

Dorothy's life became very sad as she grew to understand that it
would be harder than ever to get back to Kansas and Aunt Em again.
Sometimes she would cry bitterly for hours, with Toto sitting at her
feet and looking into her face, whining dismally to show how sorry he
was for his little mistress. Toto did not really care whether he was
in Kansas or the Land of Oz so long as Dorothy was with him; but he
knew the little girl was unhappy, and that made him unhappy too.

Now the Wicked Witch had a great longing to have for her own the
Silver Shoes which the girl always wore. Her Bees and her Crows and
her Wolves were lying in heaps and drying up, and she had used up
all the power of the Golden Cap; but if she could only get hold of
the Silver Shoes they would give her more power than all the other
things she had lost. She watched Dorothy carefully, to see if she
ever took off her shoes, thinking she might steal them. But the child
was so proud of her pretty shoes that she never took them off except
at night and when she took her bath. The Witch was too much afraid
of the dark to dare go in Dorothy's room at night to take the shoes,
and her dread of water was greater than her fear of the dark, so she
never came near when Dorothy was bathing. Indeed, the old Witch never
touched water, nor ever let water touch her in any way.

But the wicked creature was very cunning, and she finally thought of
a trick that would give her what she wanted. She placed a bar of iron
in the middle of the kitchen floor, and then by her magic arts made
the iron invisible to human eyes. So that when Dorothy walked across
the floor she stumbled over the bar, not being able to see it, and
fell at full length. She was not much hurt, but in her fall one of
the Silver Shoes came off, and before she could reach it the Witch
had snatched it away and put it on her own skinny foot.

The wicked woman was greatly pleased with the success of her trick,
for as long as she had one of the shoes she owned half the power of
their charm, and Dorothy could not use it against her, even had she
known how to do so.

[Illustration]

The little girl, seeing she had lost one of her pretty shoes, grew
angry, and said to the Witch,

"Give me back my shoe!"

"I will not," retorted the Witch, "for it is now my shoe, and not
yours."

"You are a wicked creature!" cried Dorothy. "You have no right to
take my shoe from me."

"I shall keep it, just the same," said the Witch, laughing at her,
"and some day I shall get the other one from you, too."

This made Dorothy so very angry that she picked up the bucket of
water that stood near and dashed it over the Witch, wetting her from
head to foot.

Instantly the wicked woman gave a loud cry of fear; and then, as
Dorothy looked at her in wonder, the Witch began to shrink and fall
away.

"See what you have done!" she screamed. "In a minute I shall melt
away."

"I'm very sorry, indeed," said Dorothy, who was truly frightened to
see the Witch actually melting away like brown sugar before her very
eyes.

"Didn't you know water would be the end of me?" asked the Witch, in a
wailing, despairing voice.

"Of course not," answered Dorothy; "how should I?"

"Well, in a few minutes I shall be all melted, and you will have the
castle to yourself. I have been wicked in my day, but I never thought
a little girl like you would ever be able to melt me and end my
wicked deeds. Look out--here I go!"

With these words the Witch fell down in a brown, melted, shapeless
mass and began to spread over the clean boards of the kitchen floor.
Seeing that she had really melted away to nothing, Dorothy drew
another bucket of water and threw it over the mess. She then swept
it all out the door. After picking out the silver shoe, which was
all that was left of the old woman, she cleaned and dried it with a
cloth, and put it on her foot again. Then, being at last free to do
as she chose, she ran out to the court-yard to tell the Lion that the
Wicked Witch of the West had come to an end, and that they were no
longer prisoners in a strange land.

[Illustration]




Chapter XIII. The Rescue


[Illustration]

[Illustration]

The Cowardly Lion was much pleased to hear that the Wicked Witch
had been melted by a bucket of water, and Dorothy at once unlocked
the gate of his prison and set him free. They went in together to
the castle, where Dorothy's first act was to call all the Winkies
together and tell them that they were no longer slaves.

There was great rejoicing among the yellow Winkies, for they had
been made to work hard during many years for the Wicked Witch, who
had always treated them with great cruelty. They kept this day as
a holiday, then and ever after, and spent the time in feasting and
dancing.

"If our friends, the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman, were only with
us," said the Lion, "I should be quite happy."

"Don't you suppose we could rescue them?" asked the girl, anxiously.

"We can try," answered the Lion.

So they called the yellow Winkies and asked them if they would help
to rescue their friends, and the Winkies said that they would be
delighted to do all in their power for Dorothy, who had set them free
from bondage. So she chose a number of the Winkies who looked as if
they knew the most, and they all started away. They travelled that
day and part of the next until they came to the rocky plain where the
Tin Woodman lay, all battered and bent. His axe was near him, but the
blade was rusted and the handle broken off short.

The Winkies lifted him tenderly in their arms, and carried him back
to the yellow castle again, Dorothy shedding a few tears by the way
at the sad plight of her old friend, and the Lion looking sober and
sorry. When they reached the castle Dorothy said to the Winkies,

"Are any of your people tinsmiths?"

"Oh, yes; some of us are very good tinsmiths," they told her.

"Then bring them to me," she said. And when the tinsmiths came,
bringing with them all their tools in baskets, she enquired,

[Illustration: "_The Tinsmiths worked for three days and four
nights._"]

"Can you straighten out those dents in the Tin Woodman, and bend
him back into shape again, and solder him together where he is
broken?"

The tinsmiths looked the Woodman over carefully and then answered
that they thought they could mend him so he would be as good as ever.
So they set to work in one of the big yellow rooms of the castle and
worked for three days and four nights, hammering and twisting and
bending and soldering and polishing and pounding at the legs and body
and head of the Tin Woodman, until at last he was straightened out into
his old form, and his joints worked as well as ever. To be sure, there
were several patches on him, but the tinsmiths did a good job, and as
the Woodman was not a vain man he did not mind the patches at all.

When, at last, he walked into Dorothy's room and thanked her for
rescuing him, he was so pleased that he wept tears of joy, and
Dorothy had to wipe every tear carefully from his face with her
apron, so his joints would not be rusted. At the same time her own
tears fell thick and fast at the joy of meeting her old friend again,
and these tears did not need to be wiped away. As for the Lion, he
wiped his eyes so often with the tip of his tail that it became quite
wet, and he was obliged to go out into the court-yard and hold it in
the sun till it dried.

"If we only had the Scarecrow with us again," said the Tin Woodman,
when Dorothy had finished telling him everything that had happened,
"I should be quite happy."

"We must try to find him," said the girl.

So she called the Winkies to help her, and they walked all that day
and part of the next until they came to the tall tree in the branches
of which the Winged Monkeys had tossed the Scarecrow's clothes.

It was a very tall tree, and the trunk was so smooth that no one
could climb it; but the Woodman said at once,

"I'll chop it down, and then we can get the Scarecrow's clothes."

Now while the tinsmiths had been at work mending the Woodman himself,
another of the Winkies, who was a goldsmith, had made an axe-handle
of solid gold and fitted it to the Woodman's axe, instead of the
old broken handle. Others polished the blade until all the rust was
removed and it glistened like burnished silver.

As soon as he had spoken, the Tin Woodman began to chop, and in a
short time the tree fell over with a crash, when the Scarecrow's
clothes fell out of the branches and rolled off on the ground.

Dorothy picked them up and had the Winkies carry them back to the
castle, where they were stuffed with nice, clean straw; and, behold!
here was the Scarecrow, as good as ever, thanking them over and over
again for saving him.

Now they were reunited, Dorothy and her friends spent a few happy days
at the Yellow Castle, where they found everything they needed to make
them comfortable. But one day the girl thought of Aunt Em, and said,

"We must go back to Oz, and claim his promise."

"Yes," said the Woodman, "at last I shall get my heart."

"And I shall get my brains," added the Scarecrow, joyfully.

"And I shall get my courage," said the Lion, thoughtfully.

"And I shall get back to Kansas," cried Dorothy, clapping her hands.
"Oh, let us start for the Emerald City to-morrow!"

[Illustration]

This they decided to do. The next day they called the Winkies together
and bade them good-bye. The Winkies were sorry to have them go, and
they had grown so fond of the Tin Woodman that they begged him to stay
and rule over them and the Yellow Land of the West. Finding they were
determined to go, the Winkies gave Toto and the Lion each a golden
collar; and to Dorothy they presented a beautiful bracelet, studded
with diamonds; and to the Scarecrow they gave a gold-headed walking
stick, to keep him from stumbling; and to the Tin Woodman they offered
a silver oil-can, inlaid with gold and set with precious jewels.

Every one of the travellers made the Winkies a pretty speech in
return, and all shook hands with them until their arms ached.

Dorothy went to the Witch's cupboard to fill her basket with food for
the journey, and there she saw the Golden Cap. She tried it on her own
head and found that it fitted her exactly. She did not know anything
about the charm of the Golden Cap, but she saw that it was pretty, so
she made up her mind to wear it and carry her sunbonnet in the basket.

Then, being prepared for the journey, they all started for the
Emerald City; and the Winkies gave them three cheers and many good
wishes to carry with them.





Chapter XIV. The Winged Monkeys


[Illustration]

[Illustration]

You will remember there was no road--not even a pathway--between
the castle of the Wicked Witch and the Emerald City. When the four
travellers went in search of the Witch she had seen them coming, and
so sent the Winged Monkeys to bring them to her. It was much harder
to find their way back through the big fields of buttercups and
yellow daisies than it was being carried. They knew, of course, they
must go straight east, toward the rising sun; and they started off
in the right way. But at noon, when the sun was over their heads,
they did not know which was east and which was west, and that was
the reason they were lost in the great fields. They kept on walking,
however, and at night the moon came out and shone brightly. So they
lay down among the sweet smelling yellow flowers and slept soundly
until morning--all but the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman.

The next morning the sun was behind a cloud, but they started on, as
if they were quite sure which way they were going.

"If we walk far enough," said Dorothy, "we shall sometime come to
some place, I am sure."

But day by day passed away, and they still saw nothing before them
but the yellow fields. The Scarecrow began to grumble a bit.

"We have surely lost our way," he said, "and unless we find it again
in time to reach the Emerald City I shall never get my brains."

"Nor I my heart," declared the Tin Woodman. "It seems to me I can
scarcely wait till I get to Oz, and you must admit this is a very
long journey."

"You see," said the Cowardly Lion, with a whimper, "I haven't the
courage to keep tramping forever, without getting anywhere at all."

[Illustration]

Then Dorothy lost heart. She sat down on the grass and looked at her
companions, and they sat down and looked at her, and Toto found that
for the first time in his life he was too tired to chase a butterfly
that flew past his head; so he put out his tongue and panted and
looked at Dorothy as if to ask what they should do next.

"Suppose we call the Field Mice," she suggested. "They could probably
tell us the way to the Emerald City."

"To be sure they could," cried the Scarecrow; "why didn't we think of
that before?"

Dorothy blew the little whistle she had always carried about her neck
since the Queen of the Mice had given it to her. In a few minutes
they heard the pattering of tiny feet, and many of the small grey
mice came running up to her. Among them was the Queen herself, who
asked, in her squeaky little voice,

"What can I do for my friends?"

"We have lost our way," said Dorothy. "Can you tell us where the
Emerald City is?"

[Illustration]

"Certainly," answered the Queen; "but it is a great way off, for you
have had it at your backs all this time." Then she noticed Dorothy's
Golden Cap, and said, "Why don't you use the charm of the Cap, and
call the Winged Monkeys to you? They will carry you to the City of Oz
in less than an hour."

"I didn't know there was a charm," answered Dorothy, in surprise.
"What is it?"

"It is written inside the Golden Cap," replied the Queen of the Mice;
"but if you are going to call the Winged Monkeys we must run away,
for they are full of mischief and think it great fun to plague us."

"Won't they hurt me?" asked the girl, anxiously.

"Oh, no; they must obey the wearer of the Cap. Good-bye!" And she
scampered out of sight, with all the mice hurrying after her.

Dorothy looked inside the Golden Cap and saw some words written upon
the lining. These, she thought, must be the charm, so she read the
directions carefully and put the Cap upon her head.

"Ep-pe, pep-pe, kak-ke!" she said, standing on her left foot.

"What did you say?" asked the Scarecrow, who did not know what she
was doing.

"Hil-lo, hol-lo, hel-lo!" Dorothy went on, standing this time on her
right foot.

"Hello!" replied the Tin Woodman, calmly.

[Illustration: "_The Monkeys caught Dorothy in their arms and flew
away with her._"]

"Ziz-zy, zuz-zy, zik!" said Dorothy, who was now standing on both
feet. This ended the saying of the charm, and they heard a great
chattering and flapping of wings, as the band of Winged Monkeys
flew up to them. The King bowed low before Dorothy, and asked,

"What is your command?"

"We wish to go to the Emerald City," said the child, "and we have
lost our way."

"We will carry you," replied the King, and no sooner had he spoken
than two of the Monkeys caught Dorothy in their arms and flew away
with her. Others took the Scarecrow and the Woodman and the Lion, and
one little Monkey seized Toto and flew after them, although the dog
tried hard to bite him.

The Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman were rather frightened at first,
for they remembered how badly the Winged Monkeys had treated them
before; but they saw that no harm was intended, so they rode through
the air quite cheerfully, and had a fine time looking at the pretty
gardens and woods far below them.

Dorothy found herself riding easily between two of the biggest
Monkeys, one of them the King himself. They had made a chair of their
hands and were careful not to hurt her.

"Why do you have to obey the charm of the Golden Cap?" she asked.

"That is a long story," answered the King, with a laugh; "but as we
have a long journey before us I will pass the time by telling you
about it, if you wish."

"I shall be glad to hear it," she replied.

"Once," began the leader, "we were a free people, living happily in
the great forest, flying from tree to tree, eating nuts and fruit,
and doing just as we pleased without calling anybody master. Perhaps
some of us were rather too full of mischief at times, flying down to
pull the tails of the animals that had no wings, chasing birds, and
throwing nuts at the people who walked in the forest. But we were
careless and happy and full of fun, and enjoyed every minute of the
day. This was many years ago, long before Oz came out of the clouds
to rule over this land.

"There lived here then, away at the North, a beautiful princess, who
was also a powerful sorceress. All her magic was used to help the
people, and she was never known to hurt anyone who was good. Her name
was Gayelette, and she lived in a handsome palace built from great
blocks of ruby. Everyone loved her, but her greatest sorrow was that
she could find no one to love in return, since all the men were much
too stupid and ugly to mate with one so beautiful and wise. At last,
however, she found a boy who was handsome and manly and wise beyond
his years. Gayelette made up her mind that when he grew to be a man
she would make him her husband, so she took him to her ruby palace
and used all her magic powers to make him as strong and good and
lovely as any woman could wish. When he grew to manhood, Quelala,
as he was called, was said to be the best and wisest man in all the
land, while his manly beauty was so great that Gayelette loved him
dearly, and hastened to make everything ready for the wedding.

"My grandfather was at that time the King of the Winged Monkeys which
lived in the forest near Gayalette's palace, and the old fellow loved
a joke better than a good dinner. One day, just before the wedding,
my grandfather was flying out with his band when he saw Quelala
walking beside the river. He was dressed in a rich costume of pink
silk and purple velvet, and my grandfather thought he would see what
he could do. At his word the band flew down and seized Quelala,
carried him in their arms until they were over the middle of the
river, and then dropped him into the water.

"'Swim out, my fine fellow,'" cried my grandfather, "'and see if the
water has spotted your clothes.'" Quelala was much too wise not to
swim, and he was not in the least spoiled by all his good fortune. He
laughed, when he came to the top of the water, and swam in to shore.
But when Gayelette came running out to him she found his silks and
velvet all ruined by the river.

[Illustration]

"The princess was very angry, and she knew, of course, who did it. She
had all the Winged Monkeys brought before her, and she said at first
that their wings should be tied and they should be treated as they had
treated Quelala, and dropped in the river. But my grandfather pleaded
hard, for he knew the Monkeys would drown in the river with their wings
tied, and Quelala said a kind word for them also; so that Gayelette
finally spared them, on condition that the Winged Monkeys should ever
after do three times the bidding of the owner of the Golden Cap. This
Cap had been made for a wedding present to Quelala, and it is said to
have cost the princess half her kingdom. Of course my grandfather and
all the other Monkeys at once agreed to the condition, and that is
how it happens that we are three times the slaves of the owner of the
Golden Cap, whomsoever he may be."

"And what became of them?" asked Dorothy, who had been greatly
interested in the story.

"Quelala being the first owner of the Golden Cap," replied the
Monkey, "he was the first to lay his wishes upon us. As his bride
could not bear the sight of us, he called us all to him in the forest
after he had married her and ordered us to always keep where she
could never again set eyes on a Winged Monkey, which we were glad to
do, for we were all afraid of her.

"This was all we ever had to do until the Golden Cap fell into the
hands of the Wicked Witch of the West, who made us enslave the
Winkies, and afterward drive Oz himself out of the Land of the West.
Now the Golden Cap is yours, and three times you have the right to
lay your wishes upon us."

As the Monkey King finished his story Dorothy looked down and saw the
green, shining walls of the Emerald City before them. She wondered
at the rapid flight of the Monkeys, but was glad the journey was
over. The strange creatures set the travellers down carefully before
the gate of the City, the King bowed low to Dorothy, and then flew
swiftly away, followed by all his band.

"That was a good ride," said the little girl.

"Yes, and a quick way out of our troubles." replied the Lion. "How
lucky it was you brought away that wonderful Cap!"

[Illustration]





Chapter XV. The Discovery of OZ, The Terrible.


[Illustration]

[Illustration]

The four travellers walked up to the great gate of the Emerald City
and rang the bell. After ringing several times it was opened by the
same Guardian of the Gate they had met before.

"What! are you back again?" he asked, in surprise.

"Do you not see us?" answered the Scarecrow.

"But I thought you had gone to visit the Wicked Witch of the West."

"We did visit her," said the Scarecrow.

"And she let you go again?" asked the man, in wonder.

"She could not help it, for she is melted," explained the Scarecrow.

"Melted! Well, that is good news, indeed," said the man. "Who melted
her?"

"It was Dorothy," said the Lion, gravely.

"Good gracious!" exclaimed the man, and he bowed very low indeed
before her.

Then he led them into his little room and locked the spectacles
from the great box on all their eyes, just as he had done before.
Afterward they passed on through the gate into the Emerald City, and
when the people heard from the Guardian of the Gate that they had
melted the Wicked Witch of the West they all gathered around the
travellers and followed them in a great crowd to the Palace of Oz.

The soldier with the green whiskers was still on guard before the
door, but he let them in at once and they were again met by the
beautiful green girl, who showed each of them to their old rooms at
once, so they might rest until the Great Oz was ready to receive them.

The soldier had the news carried straight to Oz that Dorothy and the
other travellers had come back again, after destroying the Wicked
Witch; but Oz made no reply. They thought the Great Wizard would send
for them at once, but he did not. They had no word from him the next
day, nor the next, nor the next. The waiting was tiresome and wearing,
and at last they grew vexed that Oz should treat them in so poor a
fashion, after sending them to undergo hardships and slavery. So the
Scarecrow at last asked the green girl to take another message to Oz,
saying if he did not let them in to see him at once they would call the
Winged Monkeys to help them, and find out whether he kept his promises
or not. When the Wizard was given this message he was so frightened
that he sent word for them to come to the Throne Room at four minutes
after nine o'clock the next morning. He had once met the Winged Monkeys
in the Land of the West, and he did not wish to meet them again.

The four travellers passed a sleepless night, each thinking of the
gift Oz had promised to bestow upon him. Dorothy fell asleep only
once, and then she dreamed she was in Kansas, where Aunt Em was
telling her how glad she was to have her little girl at home again.

Promptly at nine o'clock the next morning the green whiskered soldier
came to them, and four minutes later they all went into the Throne
Room of the Great Oz.

Of course each one of them expected to see the Wizard in the shape
he had taken before, and all were greatly surprised when they looked
about and saw no one at all in the room. They kept close to the door
and closer to one another, for the stillness of the empty room was
more dreadful than any of the forms they had seen Oz take.

[Illustration]

Presently they heard a Voice, seeming to come from somewhere near
the top of the great dome, and it said, solemnly.

"I am Oz, the Great and Terrible. Why do you seek me?"

They looked again in every part of the room, and then, seeing no one,
Dorothy asked,

"Where are you?"

"I am everywhere," answered the Voice, "but to the eyes of common
mortals I am invisible. I will now seat myself upon my throne, that
you may converse with me." Indeed, the Voice seemed just then to come
straight from the throne itself; so they walked toward it and stood
in a row while Dorothy said:

"We have come to claim our promise, O Oz."

"What promise?" asked Oz.

"You promised to send me back to Kansas when the Wicked Witch was
destroyed," said the girl.

"And you promised to give me brains," said the Scarecrow.

"And you promised to give me a heart," said the Tin Woodman.

"And you promised to give me courage," said the Cowardly Lion.

"Is the Wicked Witch really destroyed?" asked the Voice, and Dorothy
thought it trembled a little.

"Yes," she answered, "I melted her with a bucket of water."

"Dear me," said the Voice; "how sudden! Well, come to me to-morrow,
for I must have time to think it over."

"You've had plenty of time already," said the Tin Woodman, angrily.

"We shan't wait a day longer," said the Scarecrow.

"You must keep your promises to us!" exclaimed Dorothy.

The Lion thought it might be as well to frighten the Wizard, so
he gave a large, loud roar, which was so fierce and dreadful that
Toto jumped away from him in alarm and tipped over the screen that
stood in a corner. As it fell with a crash they looked that way,
and the next moment all of them were filled with wonder. For they
saw, standing in just the spot the screen had hidden, a little, old
man, with a bald head and a wrinkled face, who seemed to be as much
surprised as they were. The Tin Woodman, raising his axe, rushed
toward the little man and cried out,

[Illustration]

"Who are you?"

"I am Oz, the Great and Terrible," said the little man, in a
trembling voice, "but don't strike me--please don't!--and I'll do
anything you want me to."

Our friends looked at him in surprise and dismay.

"I thought Oz was a great Head," said Dorothy.

"And I thought Oz was a lovely Lady," said the Scarecrow.

"And I thought Oz was a terrible Beast," said the Tin Woodman.

"And I thought Oz was a Ball of Fire," exclaimed the Lion.

"No; you are all wrong," said the little man, meekly. "I have been
making believe."

"Making believe!" cried Dorothy. "Are you not a great Wizard?"

"Hush, my dear," he said; "don't speak so loud, or you will be
overheard--and I should be ruined. I'm supposed to be a Great Wizard."

"And aren't you?" she asked.

"Not a bit of it, my dear; I'm just a common man."

"You're more than that," said the Scarecrow, in a grieved tone;
"you're a humbug."

"Exactly so!" declared the little man, rubbing his hands together as
if it pleased him; "I am a humbug."

"But this is terrible," said the Tin Woodman; "how shall I ever get
my heart?"

"Or I my courage?" asked the Lion.

"Or I my brains?" wailed the Scarecrow, wiping the the tears from his
eyes with his coat-sleeve.

[Illustration: "_Exactly so! I am a humbug._"]

"My dear friends," said Oz, "I pray you not to speak of these
little things. Think of me, and the terrible trouble I'm in at being
found out."

"Doesn't anyone else know you're a humbug?" asked Dorothy.

"No one knows it but you four--and myself," replied Oz. "I have
fooled everyone so long that I thought I should never be found out.
It was a great mistake my ever letting you into the Throne Room.
Usually I will not see even my subjects, and so they believe I am
something terrible."

"But, I don't understand," said Dorothy, in bewilderment. "How was it
that you appeared to me as a great Head?"

"That was one of my tricks," answered Oz. "Step this way, please, and
I will tell you all about it."

He led the way to a small chamber in the rear of the Throne Room,
and they all followed him. He pointed to one corner, in which lay
the Great Head, made out of many thicknesses of paper, and with a
carefully painted face.

"This I hung from the ceiling by a wire," said Oz; "I stood behind the
screen and pulled a thread, to make the eyes move and the mouth open."

"But how about the voice?" she enquired.

"Oh, I am a ventriloquist," said the little man, "and I can throw
the sound of my voice wherever I wish; so that you thought it was
coming out of the Head. Here are the other things I used to deceive
you." He showed the Scarecrow the dress and the mask he had worn when
he seemed to be the lovely Lady; and the Tin Woodman saw that his
Terrible Beast was nothing but a lot of skins, sewn together, with
slats to keep their sides out. As for the Ball of Fire, the false
Wizard had hung that also from the ceiling. It was really a ball of
cotton, but when oil was poured upon it the ball burned fiercely.

"Really," said the Scarecrow, "you ought to be ashamed of yourself
for being such a humbug."

"I am--I certainly am," answered the little man, sorrowfully; "but it
was the only thing I could do. Sit down, please, there are plenty of
chairs; and I will tell you my story."

So they sat down and listened while he told the following tale:

"I was born in Omaha--"

"Why, that isn't very far from Kansas!" cried Dorothy.

"No; but it's farther from here," he said, shaking his head at her,
sadly. "When I grew up I became a ventriloquist, and at that I was
very well trained by a great master. I can imitate any kind of a
bird or beast." Here he mewed so like a kitten that Toto pricked up
his ears and looked everywhere to see where she was. "After a time,"
continued Oz, "I tired of that, and became a balloonist."

"What is that?" asked Dorothy.

"A man who goes up in a balloon on circus day, so as to draw a crowd
of people together and get them to pay to see the circus," he explained.

[Illustration]

"Oh," she said; "I know."

"Well, one day I went up in a balloon and the ropes got twisted, so
that I couldn't come down again. It went way up above the clouds, so
far that a current of air struck it and carried it many, many miles
away. For a day and a night I travelled through the air, and on the
morning of the second day I awoke and found the balloon floating over
a strange and beautiful country.

"It came down gradually, and I was not hurt a bit. But I found myself
in the midst of a strange people, who, seeing me come from the clouds,
thought I was a great Wizard. Of course I let them think so, because
they were afraid of me, and promised to do anything I wished them to.

"Just to amuse myself, and keep the good people busy, I ordered them to
build this City, and my palace; and they did it all 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.

"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 to-morrow morning, I will stuff your head
with brains. I cannot tell you how to use them, however; you must
find that out for yourself."

[Illustration]

"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. 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 to-morrow," 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."

[Illustration]

"Very well," answered Oz, meekly. "Come to me to-morrow 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, "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 that she was willing to forgive him
everything.

[Illustration]

 The Guardian at the gate informed them there was no straight road to the land of the Winkies, and that the Wicked Witch of the West would find them and make them her slaves. He told them, once hearing that they were going to try and destroy her, to keep to the West where the sun sets. As they walked the Witch noticed the strangers sleeping in her land with her one eye, which was as powerful as a telescope, and grew very angry. She called her pack of wolves and sent them after the interlopers, telling the leader of the wolves to tear them all to pieces. The Scarecrow and Tin Woodman were awake and heard the wolves coming. The Tin Woodman picked up his axe, and since he could not be hurt, killed all forty of the wolves one after the other and piled their bodies in a heap. The next morning the Witch observed what had happened and became angrier. She called her pack of crows and told King Crow to peck all of their eyes out and tear them to pieces. The crows flew to where Dorothy and her friends were. Some of the crows were afraid of the Scarecrow, but the King was not deterred and went in for the stuffed man's eyes. The Scarecrow caught him and twisted his neck, then did the same to all of the other birds. This, of course, infuriated the Witch further and she told her swarm of black bees to sting the travelers to death. The bees were foiled when they wasted their stingers on the Scarecrow, who spread his straw over the rest of his friends to protect them. The Witch then commanded her Winkies to go after them, but the people were afraid when The Cowardly Lion gave a great roar. At her wit's end, the Witch remembered the Golden Cap she possessed. It had a charm that allowed its owner to call three times upon the Winged Monkeys; she had used two already - one while enslaving the Winkies and the other while fighting against Oz and driving him out of the West. She knew this was the only way to bring Dorothy and her friends to her, so she spoke the special words and the crowd of winged monkeys flew to her. She commanded them to destroy all except the Lion, whom she desired to enslave and harness like a horse. The Tin Woodman was dropped onto sharp rocks and the Scarecrow was scattered and his clothes placed in the top of a tall tree. But Dorothy was left alone because of the mark on her forehead that meant she was protected by the Power of Good. They brought the Lion and Dorothy and Toto to the Witch. She trembled at the silver shoes on Dorothy's feet but realized the girl did not know their power. Dorothy was forced to work in the castle kitchen. She resolved to starve the Lion until he agreed to work. Thankfully, Dorothy found a way to sneak food to him. Dorothy worked hard and her life grew sad. The Witch coveted her silver shoes because they were powerful, but she could not figure out how to pry them away from the girl. Dorothy wore them at all times except while bathing, but since the Witch was deathly afraid of water, she couldn't approach. She finally set up an invisible iron bar that Dorothy tripped over, making her lose one shoe. Dorothy was so angry that, without thinking, she threw a bucket of water on the Witch, drenching her head to toe. The Witch screamed that she was going to melt away, and sure enough, every bit of her melted into oblivion. Dorothy ran out to find the Lion and tell him they were no longer prisoners. Dorothy freed the Lion and told the Winkies they were no longer slaves; they rejoiced heartily. The Winkies helped fix the Tin Woodman and put the Scarecrow back together after the Woodman cut down the tree in which the stuffed man's clothes were stuck. The friends decided to head back to Oz to claim what the powerful Wizard had promised them, and tearfully said goodbye to the Winkies. Before they left, Dorothy noticed the Golden Cap and put it on her head because it fit nicely; she did not know about its magic properties. The travelers headed back toward the Emerald City but soon became miserably lost. They called the field mice for help. The Queen of the Field Mice noticed Dorothy's cap and told her that she could command the Winged Monkeys to take them the long distance to the City. Dorothy was amazed, and speaking the words of the charm, called the Winged Monkeys to her and gave them her first command. Along the way to the City, the King of the Monkeys told Dorothy why they had to respond to the owner of the Golden Cap. Once they were a free people that lived happily in the forest. Sometimes they were playful and mischievous, but overall they were kind and carefree. There was a beautiful princess and sorceress named Gayelette who used her powers for good. She wanted a husband but could not find someone good enough. She finally found a worthy young man and used her magic to make him handsome and strong and perfect. His name was Quelala. One day the monkeys played a joke at Quelala's expense when the man was out walking. They picked him up and dropped him in the river, wetting his clothes. Quelala was not angry but Gayelette was furious. She wanted to tie the Monkeys' wings and drop them in the river. The King of the Winged Monkeys knew this was a death sentence and Quelala intervened. Gayelette thought up a new punishment and created the curse of the Golden Cap. Quelala was the first owner and used his first command to order the monkeys to stay away so his wife would never see them again. Ultimately, the Cap passed to the Wicked Witch of the West, and now Dorothy.

