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The Road to Oz

Contents

--To My Readers--
1. The Way to Butterfield
2. Dorothy Meets Button-Bright
3. A Queer Village
4. King Dox
5. The Rainbow's Daughter
6. The City of Beasts
7. The Shaggy Man's Transformation
8. The Musicker
9. Facing the Scoodlers
10. Escaping the Soup-Kettle
11. Johnny Dooit Does It
12. The Deadly Desert Crossed
13. The Truth Pond
14. Tik-Tok and Billina
15. The Emperor's Tin Castle
16. Visiting the Pumpkin-Field
17. The Royal Chariot Arrives
18. The Emerald City
19. The Shaggy Man's Welcome
20. Princess Ozma of Oz
21. Dorothy Receives the Guests
22. Important Arrivals
23. The Grand Banquet
24. The Birthday Celebration

To My Readers

Well, my dears, here is what you have asked for: another "Oz Book"
about Dorothy's strange adventures. Toto is in this story, because you
wanted him to be there, and many other characters which you will
recognize are in the story, too. Indeed, the wishes of my little
correspondents have been considered as carefully as possible, and if
the story is not exactly as you would have written it yourselves, you
must remember that a story has to be a story before it can be written
down, and the writer cannot change it much without spoiling it.

In the preface to "Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz" I said I would like to
write some stories that were not "Oz" stories, because I thought I had
written about Oz long enough; but since that volume was published I
have been fairly deluged with letters from children imploring me to
"write more about Dorothy," and "more about Oz," and since I write only
to please the children I shall try to respect their wishes.

There are some new characters in this book that ought to win your live.
I'm very fond of the shaggy man myself, and I think you will like him,
too. As for Polychrome--the Rainbow's Daughter--and stupid little
Button-Bright, they seem to have brought a new element of fun into
these Oz stories, and I am glad I discovered them. Yet I am anxious to
have you write and tell me how you like them.

Since this book was written I have received some very remarkable News
from The Land of Oz, which has greatly astonished me. I believe it
will astonish you, too, my dears, when you hear it. But it is such a
long and exciting story that it must be saved for another book--and
perhaps that book will be the last story that will ever be told about
the Land of Oz.

L. FRANK BAUM

Coronado, 1909.

1. The Way to Butterfield

"Please, miss," said the shaggy man, "can you tell me the road to
Butterfield?"

Dorothy looked him over. Yes, he was shaggy, all right, but there was
a twinkle in his eye that seemed pleasant.

"Oh yes," she replied; "I can tell you. But it isn't this road at all."

"No?"

"1101241924"

The Road to Oz