The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: Includes Read-and-Listen CDs
112
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: Includes Read-and-Listen CDs
112eBook
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Overview
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780486173801 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Dover Publications |
| Publication date: | 03/12/2013 |
| Series: | Dover Read and Listen Series |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 112 |
| File size: | 46 MB |
| Note: | This product may take a few minutes to download. |
| Age Range: | 6 - 11 Years |
About the Author
W. W. Denslow (1856–1915) is famous as the original illustrator of L. Frank Baum's many stories from the land of Oz. Denslow recognized that his work appealed to a young audience and his aim was to make children's books filled with "good, clean, wholesome fun."
Date of Birth:
May 15, 1856Date of Death:
May 6, 1919Place of Birth:
Chittenango, New YorkPlace of Death:
Hollywood, CaliforniaEducation:
Attended Peekskill Military Academy and Syracuse Classical SchoolRead an Excerpt
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
By L. FRANK BAUM, W. W. Denslow
Dover Publications, Inc.
Copyright © 2010 Dover Publications, Inc.All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-486-17380-1
CHAPTER 1
THE CYCLONE AND THE MUNCHKINS
DOROTHY LIVED on the great Kansas prairies, with Uncle Henry, who was a farmer, and Aunt Em, who was the farmer's wife. Their house was small. There were four walls, a floor and a roof. Uncle Henry and Aunt Em had a bed in one corner, and Dorothy had a little bed in another corner. There was no cellar—except a small hole called a cyclone cellar, where the family could go in case one of those great whirlwinds arose. It was reached by a trap-door in the middle of the floor.
When Dorothy stood in the doorway and looked around, she could see nothing but the great gray prairie on every side. Not a tree nor a house broke the broad sweep of flat country that reached the edge of the sky in all directions. The sun had baked the plowed land into a gray mass, with little cracks running through it. Even the grass was not green, for the sun had burned the tops of the long blades until they were the same gray color to be seen everywhere. Once the house had been painted, but the sun blistered the paint and the rains washed it away, and now the house was as dull and gray as everything else.
When Aunt Em came there to live she was a young, pretty wife. The sun and wind had changed her, too. She was thin and gaunt, and never smiled, now. When Dorothy, who was an orphan, first came to her, Aunt Em had wondered that Dorothy could find anything to laugh at.
Uncle Henry never laughed. He was gray also, from his long beard to his boots, and he rarely spoke.
It was Toto that made Dorothy laugh, and saved her from growing as gray as her other surroundings. Toto was not gray; he was a little black dog, with long hair and small black eyes. Toto played all day long, and Dorothy played with him, and loved him dearly.
Today, however, they were not playing. Uncle Henry looked anxiously at the sky, which was even grayer than usual. Dorothy stood in the door with Toto in her arms, and looked at the sky too. Aunt Em was washing the dishes.
From the far north they heard a low wail of wind, and Uncle Henry and Dorothy could see where the long grass bowed in waves before the coming storm. There now came a sharp whistling in the air from the south, and they saw ripples in the grass coming from that direction also.
"There's a cyclone coming, Em," Uncle Henry called to his wife; "I'll go look after the stock."
"Quick, Dorothy!" Aunt Em screamed; "run for the cellar!"
Toto jumped out of Dorothy's arms and hid under the bed, and the girl started to get him. Aunt Em threw open the trap-door in the floor and climbed down the ladder. Dorothy caught Toto at last, and started to follow her aunt. When she was half way across the room there came a great shriek from the wind, and the house shook so hard that she lost her footing.
A strange thing then happened.
The house whirled around two or three times and rose slowly through the air. Dorothy felt as if she were going up in a balloon. The great pressure of the wind on every side of the house raised it up higher and higher, until it was at the very top of the cyclone; and there it remained and was carried miles and miles away as easily as you could carry a feather.
Hour after hour passed away. In spite of the swaying of the house and the wailing of the wind, Dorothy soon closed her eyes and fell fast asleep.
She was awakened by a shock. Dorothy sat up and noticed that the house was not moving; bright sunshine came in at the window. She sprang from her bed and with Toto at her heels ran and opened the door.
The cyclone had set the house down very gently—for a cyclone—in the midst of a country of marvelous beauty. There were lovely patches of green meadow, with trees bearing luscious fruits. Banks of gorgeous flowers were on every hand, and birds with brilliant plumage sang and fluttered in the trees. A little way off was a small brook.
While she stood looking at the strange and beautiful sights, she noticed coming toward her a group of the oddest people she had ever seen. They seemed about as tall as Dorothy, who was a well-grown child for her age, although they were, so far as looks go, many years older.
Three were men and one a woman, and all wore round hats that rose to a small point above their heads, with little bells around the brims. The hats of the men were blue; the little woman's hat was white, and she wore a white gown; over it were sprinkled little stars.
When these people drew near the house where Dorothy was standing in the doorway, they paused and whispered among themselves, as if afraid. But the little old woman walked up to Dorothy, made a low bow, and said, "You are welcome, noble Sorceress, to the land of the Munchkins. We are so grateful to you for having killed the Wicked Witch of the East, and for setting our people free from bondage."
What could the little woman possibly mean by calling Dorothy a sorceress, and saying she had killed the Wicked Witch of the East?
"You are very kind," said Dorothy, "but there must be some mistake. I have not killed anything."
"Your house did, anyway," replied the little old woman; "and that is the same thing. See!" she said, pointing to the corner of the house; "there are her two shoes, sticking out from under a block of wood."
Dorothy looked, and gave a little cry of fright. Two feet were, indeed, sticking out, shod in silver shoes with pointed toes.
"The Wicked Witch of the East," said the little woman, "has held all the Munchkins in bondage for many years, making them slave for her night and day. Now they are all set free, and are grateful to you for the favor."
"Who are the Munchkins?" asked Dorothy.
"They are the people who live in this land of the East. I am their friend, although I live in the land of the North. I am the Witch of the North."
"Are you a real witch?" asked Dorothy.
"Yes," answered the woman. "But I am a good Witch, and people love me. I am not as powerful as the Wicked Witch was who ruled here; or I should have set the people free myself."
"But I thought all witches were wicked," said the girl.
"Oh, no. There were only four witches in all the Land of Oz, and two of them, those who live in the North and South, are good witches. Those who lived in the East and the West were, indeed, Wicked Witches; but now that you have killed one of them, there is but one Wicked Witch in all the Land of Oz—the one who lives in the West."
"But," said Dorothy, "Aunt Em, who lives in Kansas, where I come from, has told me that the witches were all dead."
The Witch of the North seemed to think for a time, then said, "I do not know where Kansas is. But tell me, is it a civilized country?"
"Oh, yes," replied Dorothy.
"Then that accounts for it. In the civilized countries there are no witches left; nor wizards, nor sorceresses. But, you see, the Land of Oz has never been civilized, for we are cut off from the rest of the world."
"Who are the Wizards?" asked Dorothy.
"Oz himself is the Great Wizard," answered the Witch. "He is more powerful than all the rest of us together. He lives in the City of Emeralds."
The Munchkins, who had been standing silently by, gave a loud shout.
The little old woman turned to look. The feet of the dead Witch had disappeared and nothing was left but the silver shoes.
"She was so old," explained the Witch of the North, "that she dried up in the sun. But the silver shoes are yours." She reached down and picked up the shoes, and after shaking the dust out of them handed them to Dorothy.
"There is some charm connected with them," said one of the Munchkins, "but what it is we never knew."
Dorothy set the shoes down in the house, and then said, "I am anxious to get back to my Aunt and Uncle. Can you help me find my way?"
They explained to her that there were deserts surrounding every direction around Oz. "I'm afraid, my dear," said the old lady, "you will have to live with us."
Dorothy began to sob, for she felt lonely among all these strange people. The little old woman took off her cap and balanced the point on the end of her nose, while she counted "one, two, three." At once the cap changed to a blackboard, on which was written in big, white chalk marks: "LET DOROTHY GO TO THE CITY OF EMERALDS.
"You must go to the City of Emeralds, Dorothy," said the woman. "Perhaps Oz will help you."
"Is he a good man?" asked the girl.
"He is a good wizard. Whether he is a man or not I cannot tell, for I have never seen him."
"How can I get there?" asked Dorothy.
"You must walk. It is a long journey, through a country that is sometimes pleasant and sometimes terrible. However, I will use all the magic arts I know of to keep you from harm. I will give you my kiss, and no one will dare injure a person who has been kissed by the Witch of the North."
When her lips touched the girl's forehead they left a round, shining mark.
"The road to the City of Emeralds is paved with yellow brick," said the Witch; "so you cannot miss it. When you get to Oz, tell your story and ask him to help you. Goodbye, my dear."
The Witch gave Dorothy a friendly nod, whirled around on her left heel three times, and disappeared, much to the surprise of Toto, who barked after her loudly enough when she had gone, because he had been afraid even to growl while she stood by.
Dorothy began to feel hungry. She went to the cupboard and cut herself some bread, which she spread with butter. She gave some to Toto, and carried a pail down to the little brook and filled it with water. Then after a good drink of the cool water for herself and then Toto, she set about making ready for the journey.
She dressed herself in her clean gingham dress, with checks of white and blue, and tied a pink sunbonnet on her head. She took a little basket and filled it with bread. Then she looked down at her feet and noticed how old and worn her shoes were.
She remembered the silver shoes that had belonged to the Witch of the East and tried them on. They fitted her as well as if they had been made for her.
"They would be just the thing to take a long walk in," she said to Toto.
And so, with Toto trotting along behind her, she started on her journey.
There were neat fences at the sides of the road, painted blue, and beyond them were fields of grain and vegetables. Evidently the Munchkins were good farmers and able to raise large crops. The blue houses of the Munchkins were round, with a big dome for a roof.
Towards evening, when Dorothy was tired, she came to a large house. On the green lawn before it many men and women were dancing. The people greeted Dorothy and invited her to supper and to pass the night with them.
Dorothy ate a hearty supper and was waited upon by a rich Munchkin, whose name was Boq. When Boq saw her silver shoes he said, "You must be a great sorceress. You wear silver shoes and have killed the Wicked Witch. You have white in your frock, and only witches and sorceresses wear white."
"My dress is blue and white checked," said Dorothy.
"It is kind of you to wear that," said Boq. "Blue is the color of the Munchkins, and white is the witch color; so we know you are a friendly witch."
The next morning, Dorothy asked, "How far is it to the Emerald City?"
"I do not know," answered Boq. "But it will take you many days. The country here is rich and pleasant, but you must pass through rough and dangerous places before you reach the end of your journey."
CHAPTER 2THE SCARECROW, THE TIN WOODMAN AND THE COWARDLY LION
SHE TOLD her friends goodbye, and again started along the road of yellow brick. When she had gone several miles she thought she would stop to rest, and so climbed to the top of the fence beside the road and sat down. There was a great cornfield beyond the fence, and not far away she saw a Scarecrow, placed high on a pole to keep the birds from the ripe corn.
The Scarecrow's head was a small sack stuffed with straw, with eyes, nose and mouth painted on it to represent a face. An old, pointed blue hat was perched on this head, and the rest of the figure was a blue suit of clothes which had also been stuffed with straw. On the feet were some old boots.
While Dorothy was looking into the odd, painted face of the Scarecrow, she was surprised to see one of the eyes wink at her. She thought she must have been mistaken, at first, for none of the scarecrows in Kansas ever wink; but presently the figure nodded its head to her. Then she climbed down from the fence and walked up to it, while Toto ran around the pole and barked.
"Good day," said the Scarecrow.
"Did you speak?" asked the girl.
"Certainly," answered the Scarecrow. "How do you do?"
"I'm pretty well, thank you," replied Dorothy; "how do you do?"
"I'm not feeling well," said the Scarecrow, "for it is very boring being perched up here night and day to scare away crows."
"Can't you get down?" asked Dorothy.
"No, for this pole is stuck up my back. If you will please take away the pole I shall be greatly obliged to you."
Dorothy reached up both arms and lifted the figure off the pole; for, being stuffed with straw, it was quite light.
"Thank you very much," said the Scarecrow, when he had been set down on the ground. "Who are you? And where are you going?"
"My name is Dorothy, and I am going to the Emerald City, to ask the great Oz to send me back to Kansas."
"Where is the Emerald City?" he asked. "And who is Oz? I don't know anything. You see, I am stuffed, so I have no brains at all. Do you think if I go to the Emerald City with you, that the great Oz would give me some brains?"
"I cannot tell," she answered. "But you may come with me, if you like."
"Thank you," he said.
They walked back to the road and started along the path of yellow brick for the Emerald City.
Toto did not like this addition to the party, at first. He often growled at the Scarecrow.
"Don't mind Toto," said Dorothy, to her new friend; "he never bites."
"Oh, I'm not afraid," said the Scarecrow, "he can't hurt the straw. I'll tell you a secret; there is only one thing in the world I am afraid of. A lighted match."
After a few hours the road began to be rough. There were fewer houses and fewer fruit trees. At noon they sat down by the roadside and Dorothy opened her basket and got out some bread. She offered a piece to the Scarecrow, but he refused.
"I am never hungry," he said; "and it is a lucky thing I am not. For my mouth is only painted, and if I should cut a hole in it so I could eat, the straw I am stuffed with would come out, and that would spoil the shape of my head."
Dorothy saw that this was true, so she went on eating her bread.
The Scarecrow asked her about herself, and she told him all about Kansas, and how gray everything was there.
The Scarecrow listened and then said, "I cannot understand why you should wish to leave this beautiful country and go back to the dry, gray place you call Kansas."
"That is because you have no brains," answered the girl. "No matter how dreary and gray our homes are, we people of flesh and blood would rather live there than in any other country, be it ever so beautiful. There is no place like home."
The Scarecrow sighed. "Of course I cannot understand it," he said. "If your heads were stuffed with straw, like mine, you would probably all live in the beautiful places, and then Kansas would have no people at all. It is fortunate for Kansas that you have brains."
Towards evening they came to a great forest, where the trees grew so big and close together that their branches met over the road of yellow brick.
"I see a little cottage at the right of us," said the Scarecrow, "built of logs and branches. Shall we go there?"
"Yes, indeed," said the child. "I am all tired out."
So the Scarecrow led her through the trees until they reached the cottage, and Dorothy entered and found a bed of dried leaves in one corner. She lay down at once, and with Toto beside her soon fell into a sound sleep. The Scarecrow, who was never tired, stood up in another corner and waited patiently until morning came.
When Dorothy awoke the sun was shining through the trees. There was the Scarecrow still standing in the corner, waiting for her.
When she had finished her breakfast of bread and water, and was about to go back to the road of yellow brick, she heard a deep groan near by.
She and the Scarecrow turned and walked through the forest a few steps. One of the big trees had been partly chopped through, and standing beside it, with an uplifted axe in his hands, was a man made entirely of tin. His head and arms and legs were jointed upon his body, but he stood perfectly motionless, as if he could not stir at all.
"Did you groan?" asked Dorothy.
"Yes," answered the tin man; "I did. I've been groaning for more than a year, and no one has ever heard me before or come to help me."
"What can I do for you?" she asked.
"Get an oil-can and oil my joints," he answered. "They are rusted so badly that I cannot move them at all; if I am well-oiled I shall soon be all right again. You will find an oil-can on a shelf in my cottage."
(Continues...)
Excerpted from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. FRANK BAUM, W. W. Denslow. Copyright © 2010 Dover Publications, Inc.. Excerpted by permission of Dover Publications, Inc..
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Contents
Title Page,Copyright Page,
1 - THE CYCLONE AND THE MUNCHKINS,
2 - THE SCARECROW, THE TIN WOODMAN AND THE COWARDLY LION,
3 - THE JOURNEY TO THE GREAT OZ,
4 - THE EMERALD CITY AND THE WIZARD,
5 - THE WICKED WITCH,
6 - THE WIZARD'S SECRET,
7 - THE WIZARD'S GIFTS AND DEPARTURE,
8 - GLINDA AIDS DOROTHY,