When Dorothy was left alone she began to feel hungry. So she went to
the cupboard and cut herself some bread, which she spread with butter.
She gave some to Toto, and taking a pail from the shelf she carried it
down to the little brook and filled it with clear, sparkling water.
Toto ran over to the trees and began to bark at the birds sitting
there. Dorothy went to get him, and saw such delicious fruit hanging
from the branches that she gathered some of it, finding it just what
she wanted to help out her breakfast.
Then she went back to the house, and having helped herself and Toto to
a good drink of the cool, clear water, she set about making ready for
the journey to the City of Emeralds.
Dorothy had only one other dress, but that happened to be clean and was
hanging on a peg beside her bed. It was gingham, with checks of white
and blue; and although the blue was somewhat faded with many washings,
it was still a pretty frock. The girl washed herself carefully,
dressed herself in the clean gingham, and tied her pink sunbonnet on
her head. She took a little basket and filled it with bread from the
cupboard, laying a white cloth over the top. Then she looked down at
her feet and noticed how old and worn her shoes were.
"They surely will never do for a long journey, Toto," she said. And
Toto looked up into her face with his little black eyes and wagged his
tail to show he knew what she meant.
At that moment Dorothy saw lying on the table the silver shoes that had
belonged to the Witch of the East.
"I wonder if they will fit me," she said to Toto. "They would be just
the thing to take a long walk in, for they could not wear out."
She took off her old leather shoes and tried on the silver ones, which
fitted her as well as if they had been made for her.
Finally she picked up her basket.
"Come along, Toto," she said. "We will go to the Emerald City and ask
the Great Oz how to get back to Kansas again."
She closed the door, locked it, and put the key carefully in the pocket
of her dress. And so, with Toto trotting along soberly behind her, she
started on her journey.
There were several roads nearby, but it did not take her long to find
the one paved with yellow bricks. Within a short time she was walking
briskly toward the Emerald City, her silver shoes tinkling merrily on
the hard, yellow road-bed. The sun shone bright and the birds sang
sweetly, and Dorothy did not feel nearly so bad as you might think a
little girl would who had been suddenly whisked away from her own
country and set down in the midst of a strange land.
She was surprised, as she walked along, to see how pretty the country
was about her. There were neat fences at the sides of the road,
painted a dainty blue color, and beyond them were fields of grain and
vegetables in abundance. Evidently the Munchkins were good farmers and
able to raise large crops. Once in a while she would pass a house, and
the people came out to look at her and bow low as she went by; for
everyone knew she had been the means of destroying the Wicked Witch and
setting them free from bondage. The houses of the Munchkins were
odd-looking dwellings, for each was round, with a big dome for a roof.
All were painted blue, for in this country of the East blue was the
favorite color.
Toward evening, when Dorothy was tired with her long walk and began to
wonder where she should pass the night, she came to a house rather
larger than the rest. On the green lawn before it many men and women
were dancing. Five little fiddlers played as loudly as possible, and
the people were laughing and singing, while a big table near by was
loaded with delicious fruits and nuts, pies and cakes, and many other
good things to eat.
The people greeted Dorothy kindly, and invited her to supper and to
pass the night with them; for this was the home of one of the richest
Munchkins in the land, and his friends were gathered with him to
celebrate their freedom from the bondage of the Wicked Witch.
Dorothy ate a hearty supper and was waited upon by the rich Munchkin
himself, whose name was Boq. Then she sat upon a settee and watched
the people dance.
When Boq saw her silver shoes he said, "You must be a great sorceress."
"Why?" asked the girl.
"Because you wear silver shoes and have killed the Wicked Witch.
Besides, you have white in your frock, and only witches and sorceresses
wear white."
"My dress is blue and white checked," said Dorothy, smoothing out the
wrinkles in it.
"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."
Dorothy did not know what to say to this, for all the people seemed to
think her a witch, and she knew very well she was only an ordinary
little girl who had come by the chance of a cyclone into a strange land.
When she had tired watching the dancing, Boq led her into the house,
where he gave her a room with a pretty bed in it. The sheets were made
of blue cloth, and Dorothy slept soundly in them till morning, with
Toto curled up on the blue rug beside her.
She ate a hearty breakfast, and watched a wee Munchkin baby, who played
with Toto and pulled his tail and crowed and laughed in a way that
greatly amused Dorothy. Toto was a fine curiosity to all the people,
for they had never seen a dog before.
"How far is it to the Emerald City?" the girl asked.
"I do not know," answered Boq gravely, "for I have never been there.
It is better for people to keep away from Oz, unless they have business
with him. But it is a long way to the Emerald City, and 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."
This worried Dorothy a little, but she knew that only the Great Oz
could help her get to Kansas again, so she bravely resolved not to turn
back.
She bade her friends good-bye, 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.
Dorothy leaned her chin upon her hand and gazed thoughtfully at the
Scarecrow. Its 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, that had belonged to some Munchkin, was perched on his head,
and the rest of the figure was a blue suit of clothes, worn and faded,
which had also been stuffed with straw. On the feet were some old
boots with blue tops, such as every man wore in this country, and the
figure was raised above the stalks of corn by means of the pole stuck
up its back.
While Dorothy was looking earnestly into the queer, painted face of the
Scarecrow, she was surprised to see one of the eyes slowly 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 in a friendly way. 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, in a rather husky voice.
"Did you speak?" asked the girl, in wonder.
"Certainly," answered the Scarecrow. "How do you do?"
"I'm pretty well, thank you," replied Dorothy politely. "How do you
do?"
"I'm not feeling well," said the Scarecrow, with a smile, "for it is
very tedious 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. "I feel like a new man."
Dorothy was puzzled at this, for it sounded queer to hear a stuffed man
speak, and to see him bow and walk along beside her.
"Who are you?" asked the Scarecrow when he had stretched himself and
yawned. "And where are you going?"
"My name is Dorothy," said the girl, "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 inquired. "And who is Oz?"
"Why, don't you know?" she returned, in surprise.
"No, indeed. I don't know anything. You see, I am stuffed, so I have
no brains at all," he answered sadly.
"Oh," said Dorothy, "I'm awfully sorry for you."
"Do you think," he asked, "if I go to the Emerald City with you, that
Oz would give me some brains?"
"I cannot tell," she returned, "but you may come with me, if you like.
If Oz will not give you any brains you will be no worse off than you
are now."
"That is true," said the Scarecrow. "You see," he continued
confidentially, "I don't mind my legs and arms and body being stuffed,
because I cannot get hurt. If anyone treads on my toes or sticks a pin
into me, it doesn't matter, for I can't feel it. But I do not want
people to call me a fool, and if my head stays stuffed with straw
instead of with brains, as yours is, how am I ever to know anything?"
"I understand how you feel," said the little girl, who was truly sorry
for him. "If you will come with me I'll ask Oz to do all he can for
you."
"Thank you," he answered gratefully.
They walked back to the road. Dorothy helped him over the fence, and
they started along the path of yellow brick for the Emerald City.
Toto did not like this addition to the party at first. He smelled
around the stuffed man as if he suspected there might be a nest of rats
in the straw, and he often growled in an unfriendly way at the
Scarecrow.
"Don't mind Toto," said Dorothy to her new friend. "He never bites."
"Oh, I'm not afraid," replied the Scarecrow. "He can't hurt the straw.
Do let me carry that basket for you. I shall not mind it, for I can't
get tired. I'll tell you a secret," he continued, as he walked along.
"There is only one thing in the world I am afraid of."
"What is that?" asked Dorothy; "the Munchkin farmer who made you?"
"No," answered the Scarecrow; "it's a lighted match."
QUIZ TIME!
What did Dorothy give Toto to eat beside the brook?
A. Bread
B. Meat
C. Cheese
D. Apples
What color was Dorothy's gingham dress?
A. Blue and white
B. Red and green
C. Yellow and black
D. Purple and pink
What did Dorothy find on the table that belonged to the Witch of the East?
A. A magic wand
B. A pair of silver shoes
C. A crystal ball
D. A golden crown
What did the people think Dorothy was because of her silver shoes and white in her dress?
A. A princess
B. A sorceress
C. A warrior
D. A queen
Who did Dorothy meet beside the road, stuck on a pole to scare crows?
A. A lion
B. A tin man
C. A scarecrow
D. A wizard
Answers:
A. Bread
A. Blue and white
B. A pair of silver shoes
B. A sorceress
C. A scarecrow
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