home→Tablets→ Baum l f short biography. Lf Baum Amazing The Wizard Of Oz

Baum l f short biography. Lf Baum Amazing The Wizard Of Oz

Who does not know Volkov's fairy tale about the girl Ellie, who ended up in the Magic Land? But not everyone knows that in reality Volkov's essay is just a free retelling of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, written by Lyman Frank Baum. In addition to this fairy tale, Baum devoted thirteen more works to the universe of Oz, in addition, other equally interesting children's fairy tales came out from under his pen.

Baum Lyman Frank: a biography of the early years

Frank was born in May 1856 in the family of a cooper in the small American town of Chittenango. Due to heart problems in a baby, doctors predicted him short life- 3-4 years, but, to everyone's surprise, the boy outlived all his brothers and sisters.

Shortly after Frank was born, his father became rich and was able to provide for his children. Better conditions for growing up. All of Baum's childhood was spent in private teachers.

Early fascinated by books, Baum soon read the entire huge library of his father, which aroused his pride. Baum's favorite authors were Dickens and Thackeray.

In 1868 the boy was sent to military academy in Peekskill. True, Frank soon persuaded his parents to take him home.

One day, the guy received a miniature printing press for the production of newspapers as a birthday present from his father. Together with his brother, they began to publish a family newspaper. The home newspaper of the Baums published not only chronicles of family life, but also the first fairy tales written by young Frank.

From the age of seventeen, the writer was seriously interested in philately and tried to publish his own magazine dedicated to this topic. He later worked as a director of a bookstore. His next hobby was breeding thoroughbred chickens. Baum even devoted a book to this topic - it was published just when the guy was twenty years old. However, later he lost interest in chickens and became interested in theater.

Baum's personal life

Having traveled for some time with a traveling theater, Lyman Frank Baum met the beautiful Maud at the age of twenty-five, and a year later they got married. The parents of Frank's beloved were not very fond of the dreamy son-in-law, but his father's wealth forced them to agree to this marriage.

Frank and Maud had four sons, whom Baum loved very much and often told bedtime stories of his own composition.

Over time, he began to write them down, and soon published them - this is how Baum's writing career began.

Successful writing career

After the success of the first children's book, a couple of years later, Baum wrote a sequel, Father Goose: His Book. However, as he watched his own babies grow up, he realized that it was necessary to write a fairy tale for older children who were no longer interested in reading about the adventures of geese in the barnyard. So there was an idea to write about the girl Dorothy, who accidentally ended up in the fabulous land of Oz.

In 1900, the debut tale of the Oz cycle was published. This work instantly gained popularity, and tens of thousands of children began to read out the fascinating adventures of Dorothy. On the wave of success, the author published a fairy tale about Santa Claus, and two years later - its continuation. However, readers all expected from him a new book about a fairy-tale land, and in 1904 another fairy tale of the Oz cycle was born.

Baum's last years

Trying to move away from the topic of Oz, Baum wrote other tales, but they were not so interested in readers. Later, the writer completely switched to writing books about a magical land. In total, Baum devoted fourteen books to her, the last two of which were published after the death of the writer, who died in 1919 from heart problems. It is noteworthy that the Oz cycle was so popular that even after the death of its creator, other writers began to publish numerous sequels. Of course, they were inferior to the original.

Summary of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

The main character of the most popular first part and most of the other books in the cycle was the orphan Dorothy (Volkov renamed her Ellie).

In the first book, a girl with faithful dog Toto is blown into Oz by a powerful hurricane. Trying to return home, at the prompt of the good sorceress, Dorothy goes to the Emerald City to Oz, who rules in it. Along the way, the girl befriends the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion. All of them need something from the wizard, and he promises to fulfill their requests if their friends will save the country from the evil sorceress. Having overcome many problems, each hero gets what he wants.

Plot of "The Wonderful Land of Oz"

In the second book, the main character is the servant of the evil witch Mombi Tip. One day, the boy escapes from her, taking with him a magic powder that can breathe life into inanimate objects. Having reached the Emerald City, he helps the Scarecrow escape from there, as the city is captured by an army of militant girls with knitting needles led by Ginger. Together they ask the Tin Woodman and Glinda (the good sorceress) for help. It turns out that they need to find the true ruler of the city - the disappeared Princess Ozma. After a while, it turns out that Type is Ozma, enchanted by the witch Mombi. Having returned the true appearance, the princess and her friends regain their power.

The plot of "Ozma of Oz", "Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz", "Journey to Oz" and "The Emerald City of Oz"

The girly Dorothy reappears in the third book. Here she, along with Billina the chicken, finds herself in the Magic Land. The girl is horrified to learn the tragic story of the royal family Yves. Trying to help them, she almost loses her own head. However, having met Princess Ozma (who came to the aid of the royal family in the company of the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman), Dorothy manages to remove the spell from the Eve family and return home.

In the fourth book, as a result of an earthquake, Dorothy with her cousin Jeb and decrepit horse Jim find themselves in a magical land of glass cities. Here they meet the wizard Oz and the kitten Eureka. To get out of this not at all friendly country, the heroes have to overcome a lot. The journey ends again in the land of Oz, where the girl is expected by good old friends who help her and her companions to return home.

In the fifth book in the series, Princess Ozma had a birthday party where she really wanted to see Dorothy. To do this, she confused all the roads, and the girl, showing the way to a tramp named Shaggy, she herself got lost and, after numerous wanderings and adventures, ended up in the land of Oz to Ozma.

In the sixth story of the "Land of Oz" cycle, due to problems on the farm, Dorothy's family moves to live in the Magic Land. However, trouble looms over the Emerald City - an evil king who is building an underground passage is trying to capture it.

Books about Santa Claus

Although Baum received worldwide fame and name thanks to the endless epic about Oz, he also wrote other fairy tales. So, after the success of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the writer wrote a wonderful good Christmas tale "The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus." In it, he talked about the fate of a kind boy raised by a lioness and the nymph Nekil, about how and why he became Santa Claus and how he received immortality.

The children also liked this story very much. Apparently, Baum himself was closer to the story of Santa Claus than to the land of Oz, and soon he publishes the book "Kidnapped Santa Claus". In it, he talks about the main enemies of Klaus and their attempts to disrupt Christmas. Later, the plot of this book was often used for many films.

During his rather long life, Lyman Frank Baum wrote more than two dozen books. These books were received differently by the public. Fairy tales brought him the greatest popularity. And although the author repeatedly tried to write on other topics, and very successfully, for his readers he will forever remain the court chronicler of Oz.

Years of life: from 05/15/1856 to 05/06/1919

Writer and journalist, classic of children's literature. Among his compatriots who wrote and write in the literary fairy tale genre, Lyman Frank Baum remains the brightest individual to this day. Fairy tales are just a small part of the author's work, but it is thanks to them that the author entered the history of US literature.

Lyman Frank Baum was born in Chittenango, New York. Frank had very little chance of ever reaching the age of three. Doctors already in the first year of his life did not hide the truth from his parents: the baby had a congenital heart disease. And only a calm, measured and happy life can save him, preferably not in a big city, but in the countryside.

By the time Frank was born, the writer's father, Benjamin, was a cooper who made barrels for oil. It was those that were called "barrels" due to the fact that just so much oil was placed in them. But the seventh child became like a happy talisman: soon Benjamin from a cooper became a seller of black gold; and his business went uphill so rapidly that he became rich in a short time. Father could let the teachers themselves come to Frank: he did not go to school. Frank was such a bookworm that he soon overcame the entire far from small library of his father. Frank's favorites were Charles Dickens and William Thackeray. Dickens was still alive at this point, so all the novelties that came out from the pen of the classic were immediately delivered to Frank. Such a passion for his son was a source of special pride for his father. He told everyone: “My Frank these books are cracking like nuts!”.

Frank met his 14th birthday happy: the father came to his son's room in the morning and brought him a very large gift - it was a typewriter. Quite a rarity at the time. On the same day, Frank and his younger brother already delighted their parents with the first family newspaper. And then the newspaper, which later grew into a magazine, began to be published regularly. In it, in addition to the family chronicle, there was also fiction - Frank often wrote fairy tales for the younger ones ...

At the age of 17, the future writer began to publish a completely adult magazine. Since his second hobby, after books, was philately, the pages of the new edition were devoted to the history of stamps, various auctions, and travel.

Frank himself was truly restless - whoever he just did not work in his youth. He started as a reporter, was the director of a bookstore, studied for two years at a military school, where he experienced an almost physical disgust for the drill. Then he decided to become a farmer, raised poultry, and at the same time published a magazine dedicated to poultry farming. But soon he returned to the city, became a producer of a number of theaters; several times went on stage, playing in performances.

In 1881, Frank fell in love with the charming Maud. The somewhat frivolous young man, with his head in the clouds, did not seem to Maud's parents an exceptionally successful match. The girl said that she would not go for anyone else but Frank. So, on November 9, 1882, Frank and Maud got married. They had four children, for whom Baum began to write fairy tales; at first they were oral. Frank admitted to Maud that he really did not want children to learn life from the "evil tales of the Brothers Grimm."

In 1899, Baum published his first book, Uncle Goose's Tales. In memory of how he raised Christmas geese in his youth. A year later, his famous story "The Wizard of Oz" was published. There are no rich and poor in Oz, no money, wars, diseases, life here is a celebration of sociability and friendliness. Good in Baum always takes precedence over the power of evil, and evil itself, in most cases, turns out to be "fake", illusory. Baum has repeatedly said that he wants to create a non-terrible fairy tale, in which - in contrast to the classical models - "miracles and joy were preserved, and grief and horror were discarded." The Land of Oz is a land of dreams, sharply contrasted by the author with the withered, gray Kansas prairie, from where the journey of the heroine, the girl Dorothy, begins. In the words of one of Baum's researchers, Oz is an ordinary American farm, where everything suddenly became extraordinary. The world invented by the author combines the traditional attributes of fairy-tale folklore with specific examples of American rural life. The influence of L. Carroll on Baum is obvious, but the differences between the English and American storytellers are no less obvious. In contrast to Wonderland, where Alice has to wade through logical traps, ironic intricacies of words and concepts, which indirectly reflected very real life relationships, conventions and prejudices of British life, Oz is a blissful country where conflicts, contradictions, shadow sides of life are canceled. The famous American science fiction writer, Ray Bradbury, an ardent fan of Baum's series, noted that in these tales "solid sweet buns, honey and summer holidays." Carroll's Wonderland, compared to Oz, "cold porridge, arithmetic at six in the morning, pouring ice water and long sitting at the desk." According to Bradbury, Wonderland is preferred by intellectuals, and dreamers choose Oz: "Wonderland is what we are, and Oz is what we would like to become."

Readers were looking forward to the author's new stories, but, having released the sixth tale in 1910, Baum decided to take a break. He published two tales about the girl Trot and Captain Bill, which were, in general, well received by readers, but they could not think that the story of Oz was completed. Letters were sent with protests, with proposals to return to their favorite characters. So, a few years later, the author wrote a sequel - "The Land of Oz".

Every year for Christmas, American children received from the author another story about a wonderful country created by his imagination.

Baum's fairy tales have been filmed and staged many times. Baum's magical story quickly spread around the world. It was translated into several languages, and only in our country almost no one heard about the author of Dorothy and Oz. Alexander Melentievich Volkov, taking Baum's "saga" as a basis, re-arranged it in his own interpretation. Volkov's work was called "The Wizard of Oz" and appeared on the bookshelf in 1939 when Americans lined up outside movie theaters to see the Hollywood version of "The Wizard of Oz" with Judy Garland as Dorothy.

Over the course of 19 years of writing, Frank wrote 62 books, 14 of which were dedicated to the Wizarding Land of Oz, 24 books were written exclusively for girls and 6 for boys. In the United States, the beginning of the 20th century was marked by the "Baum boom" - it was decided to film his book; the author personally participated not only in writing the script, but also in staging the film. In total, during the life of the writer, 6 films were shot based on his "saga". In addition, from 1902 to 1911, according to this book, the musical was staged 293 times on Broadway! Perhaps Baum would have written more Oz tales, but death from a heart attack turned the tables on the Court Historian of Oz. On May 15, 1919, the numerous relatives of the famous American writer, Lyman Frank Baum, were supposed to gather for his next birthday. It was not a round date, but, about a month before the event, invitation cards were sent to the guests, and by the end of April, they had already been received by the addressees. Then none of the invitees knew yet that they would gather at Baum's house a little earlier and on a completely different occasion - on May 6, 1919, Frank's heart stopped. Until his 63rd birthday, the writer, beloved by many generations of children, never lived.

The tales of Oz were, and still are, so popular that after Baum's death, attempts were made to continue the fairy tale. Reader's love turned the dot into an ellipsis: a variety of writers took the baton. A new surge of interest in Baum came at the end of the fifties. At the initiative of a thirteen-year-old schoolboy from New York, in 1957, the International Wizard of Oz Club was created. The club exists to this day and has its own periodical, which deals with the details of life in the magical Land of Oz and the latest publications on this topic.

The real discovery of Baum in Russia falls on the nineties. The first sign was a book published in 1991 in the Moscow Worker, which included the second, third and thirteenth tales of the series, and a little later, the translation of The Wizard of Oz was proposed.

Baum's fairy tales are imbued with an optimistic faith: everything that a person can dream of is inherent in himself. Baum was convinced that humanity and morality are not invested in people - they are awakened. As well as the fact that "a dream - a daydream when the eyes are open and the brains are working with might and main - should lead to the improvement of the world. A child with a developed imagination, over time, will grow into a man or a woman with a developed imagination and, therefore, will be able to to nurture, to lead civilization forward."

On the set of The Wizard of Oz, MGM's dressers were looking for a well-worn but elegant coat to dress the wizard in. After rummaging through local second-hand clothing stores, they found such a coat and, by an incredible coincidence, it turned out that it had previously belonged to the author of the book "The Wizard of Oz" Frank Baum (L. Frank Baum).

Bibliography

* Stories of Mother Goose in prose (1897)
* Father Goose: his book (1899)

* (Wizard of Oz, Great Wizard of Oz) (1900)
* The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus (1092)
* (The Wonderful Country of Oz, Oz) (1904)
* (Princess Ozma of Oz) (1907)
* Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz (1908)
* (1909)
* (1910)
* The Patchwork Girl of Oz (The Patchwork Girl of Oz) (1913)
* Tik-Tok from Oz (1914)
* (The Scarecrow of Oz) (1915)
* (1916)
* The Lost Princess of Oz (The Lost Princess of Oz) (1917)
* The Tin Woodman of Oz (1918)
* (1919)
* Glinda of Oz (1920)

* (1901)

Screen adaptations of works, theatrical performances

Screen adaptations
* The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, based on the musical directed by Otis Turner
* The Wizard of Oz Musical film directed by Victor Flemin
* Journey Back to Oz, Animated Movie official sequel to The Wizard of Oz
* The Wizard, a film musical based on the Broadway musical directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Michael Jackson and Diana Ross
* Return to Oz
* Iron Man (miniseries)

Current page: 1 (total book has 2 pages) [available reading excerpt: 1 pages]

Font:

100% +

Lyman Frank Baum
The Wizard of Oz

In a small house, lost on the endless prairies of Kansas, a girl named Dorothy lived with her uncle Henry and aunt Em. There was only one room in their house, and the cellar was a hole dug in the ground - a shelter where you could hide if a sandstorm suddenly broke out, which often happened in Kansas.

Their gray house was barely visible against the gray plain. Even Auntie Em and Uncle Henry seemed to be covered in gray dust, like everything around them. Only with Toto, a small black dog with long silky hair, and with Dorothy, this ubiquitous dust could not do anything. Dorothy and her darling were playing so merrily and playing so fast that the sand dust had no time to stick to them.

But on this day they were not up to the games. Uncle Henry looked at the sky with concern: it was getting dark before his eyes. Uncle Henry went to the barn to see how the horses and cows were. Dorothy looked at the sky, and Aunt Em stopped washing the dishes and went to the door. At first glance, it became clear to her that a hurricane was approaching.

Dorothy, live! she screamed. - Hide quickly in the cellar!

Toto hid under the bed in fright, and Dorothy, no matter how hard she tried, could not get him out. Frightened to death, Aunt Em threw back the lid of the cellar and went downstairs. Dorothy finally caught Toto and was about to follow her aunt. But she did not even have time to reach the door: the house shook so violently with a gust of wind that the girl fell to the floor.

And then something strange happened. The house began to spin like a top, and then began to slowly rise up. The tornado picked him up and carried him farther and farther away from where he had always stood.

The wind howled terribly in the darkness, but Dorothy was not in the least afraid - the house, as if nothing had happened, smoothly flew through the air.

Toto ran around the room, barking loudly, while Dorothy sat quietly on the floor, waiting to see what would happen next. She eventually lost track of time, climbed into her bed and fell asleep.

Suddenly she woke up and sat up on the bed. The house no longer flew through the air, but stood still. Bright sunlight poured in through the window. Dorothy rushed to the door and looked out.

How beautiful it was here! The grass was brightly green, juicy fruits ripened on the trees, wonderful flowers grew everywhere. Amazing birds of unprecedented beauty fluttered, a stream murmured and sparkled in the sun.

Dorothy saw that a company of very strange little people was heading towards the house: three men and one woman. They were about her height, but looked old. And how bizarrely they were dressed! They wore tall pointed hats, and bells tinkled in the brim of their hats. The men were dressed in blue, and only the woman was wearing a snow-white dress, sparkling like diamonds. Dorothy decided that the men must be the same age as Uncle Henry: what beards they have! But the little woman seemed much older.

At the sight of Dorothy, the little men stopped and whispered, as if not daring to approach. And only the little old woman came up to Dorothy, bowed low and spoke affably:

“Welcome to the Land of Munchkins, most noble sorceress! The Munchkins express their gratitude to you for killing the Wicked Witch of the East and freeing the Munchkins from slavery.

And the old woman pointed to the corner of the house. Dorothy looked up and gave a frightened cry. From under the house stuck out two legs in silver shoes with pointed toes.

“I am the Good Fairy of the North, and I am a friend of the Munchkins. There is another Good Fairy, she lives in the South. And those who settled in the West and in the East are evil sorceresses. You killed one of them, but there is still another - the Wicked Witch of all Oz - the one who lives in the West.

Then the Munchkins, who had been silent all this time, shouted loudly, pointing to the corner of the house under which the Wicked Witch was buried. The legs of the dead sorceress disappeared before our eyes, all that was left of her was a pair of silver shoes, and the Wicked Witch of the East herself evaporated in the sun.

The Fairy Godmother took the shoes and handed them to Dorothy.

“The Witch of the East was very proud of her shoes,” said one of the Munchkins. “They have a magical power, but we don’t know what it is.”

Dorothy wanted more than anything to go home, and she asked the Munchkins if they could help her find her way back to Kansas.

The Munchkins shook their heads.

“You need to go to the Emerald City. Perhaps the Great Wizard of Oz will help you,” said the Good Fairy of the North.

- Where is this city? Dorothy asked.

“Right in the center of the country, where the Great Wizard of Oz rules.

- Is he a good person? Dorothy asked anxiously.

“He is the Good Wizard. But whether he is a man or not, I cannot say, because I have never seen him.

– How can I get there? Dorothy asked.

- You have to walk. It will be a long journey, sometimes pleasant, sometimes dangerous. But I will use all my magic to protect you from harm. My kiss will protect you, and no one will dare to touch you,” said the Good Fairy of the North.

She went up to Dorothy and kissed her on the forehead. Then she pointed out to the girl on the road paved with yellow bricks leading to the Emerald City, said goodbye and disappeared. The Munchkins wished Dorothy a good trip and disappeared behind the trees.

Dorothy got out of the closet and put on a blue-and-white checked dress and a pink cap, put the bread in a small basket, and put on her silver slippers, the same ones that belonged to the Witch of the East.

She set out on her way along the road paved with yellow bricks. On both sides of the road stretched blue-painted hedges, and behind them were fields full of vegetables and wheat. Occasionally, along the way came across round houses with domed roofs. All the houses were also blue, because in the Land of the Munchkins blue was the favorite color.

People came out of their houses to look at Dorothy as she passed by; all the Munchkins already knew that she had delivered them from the Evil Witch of the East and freed them from slavery.

In the evening, Dorothy reached a large house in which many Munchkins had gathered. They sang and danced, celebrating the deliverance from the Evil Witch.

Dorothy was invited into the house and treated generously. The rich Munchkin Bok - the owner of the house - himself served her at the table. Dorothy enjoyed watching the Munchkins having fun, but soon she was overtaken by a dream, and she slept until morning.

The next morning, Dorothy said goodbye to her new friends and walked down the yellow brick road. She walked for a long time and finally sat down to rest by the side of the road. Not far away, behind a hedge, in the middle of a cornfield, she saw a straw effigy sticking out on a pole in a blue Munchkin suit. The Straw Man was supposed to scare away the birds from the ripening corn.

Dorothy was looking at the scarecrow with interest, and it suddenly winked at her! Dorothy thought she must have imagined it, because in Kansas scarecrows never winked. But then the figure on the pole gave her a friendly nod. Surprised, Dorothy stepped closer to the scarecrow.

- Good afternoon! - the scarecrow greeted.

- You can speak? – the girl was surprised.

- Certainly! replied the Straw Man. - How are you doing?

“Okay, thanks,” Dorothy said politely. – How are you?

“Not in the best way,” the scarecrow smiled. “I’m tired, you know, of hanging around on a pole day and night, driving away crows. If you would be so kind as to take me off the pole, I would be very grateful.

Dorothy lifted the scarecrow from the pole without difficulty, for it was stuffed with straw.

- Many thanks! said the straw man. - And who are you? And where are you heading?

“My name is Dorothy,” the girl replied. “And I'm going to the Emerald City to ask the Great Oz to bring me back home to Kansas.

“What do you think,” said the Straw Man, “that Oz could give me brains?”

After all, he was stuffed with straw, and he had no brains.

“If you come with me, I will ask Oz to help you too,” Dorothy promised.

“Thank you,” said the Straw Man.

And they went down the road together. Soon the road led them to a dense forest. Suddenly, they heard a heavy groan nearby. A man made of tin stood with his ax held high by a half-cut tree.

- Did you moan? Dorothy asked.

“Yes,” said the Tin Man. “For more than a year I have been moaning, but for all this time no one has heard me or come to my aid. Please help me, bring an oil can from my house and lubricate my joints. They're so rusted I can't move, but if they're oiled I'll be fine again.

Dorothy rushed to the Tin Woodman's house and found an oil can. Returning, she smeared oil on all the joints of the strange man.

The Tin Woodman lowered his ax with a sigh of relief.

- What happiness! - he said. “I've been standing swinging that ax ever since I got rusty. What a joy that it can finally be lowered! But if you had not appeared here, I could have stood like this for an eternity. How did you get here?

“We are going to the Emerald City to the Great Oz,” Dorothy replied.

- Why do you need him? asked the Tin Woodman.

“I want him to help me get back home to Kansas, and the Straw Man really needs brains,” Dorothy explained.

The Tin Woodman thought for a moment and finally asked:

“Do you think this Oz can give me a heart?”

- Certainly! Dorothy replied. "He's a wizard, after all."

“True,” agreed the Tin Woodman. "Well, if you'll let me join you, I'll go to the Emerald City and ask Oz to help me."

- Let's go to! - the scarecrow rejoiced. Dorothy, too, was pleased to have the Tin Woodman to keep them company.

The Tin Woodman asked the girl to put the butter dish in the basket.

“You never know what could happen,” he explained. “If I get caught in the rain, I’ll rust again, and then I won’t do without oil.”

And they moved forward along the yellow brick road. They walked and walked, when suddenly a terrible roar reached them from the forest, and the next moment a huge Lion jumped out onto the road. With a wave of his paw, he threw the scarecrow to the side of the road, and then, with sharp claws, he jumped on the Tin Woodman. But, although the Woodcutter fell to the ground, Lev could not bend his tin surface and was very surprised at this.

Little Toto, finding himself face to face with the enemy, rushed at the Lion with a bark. The huge beast opened its mouth to grab him, but then Dorothy rushed forward, hit the Lion with all her strength on the nose and shouted:

Don't you dare touch Toto!

“But I didn’t touch it,” Lev answered peacefully, rubbing his nose.

But you were going to! Dorothy objected. - What a coward you are - attacking the little ones!

- I know. The ashamed Lion lowered his head. “I always knew that. But what can you do!

“Come with us to Oz, and let him give you courage,” Dorothy suggested.

"I'll go if you don't mind!" A life like mine is just unbearable.

“We'll be glad,” said Dorothy. You will scare wild animals away from us.

And they set off.

The forest around was getting thicker and darker. From the thicket they heard some strange sounds.

An abyss blocked the way for the travelers. The Tin Woodman cut down a large tree so that he could climb across its trunk to the other side. But as soon as the travelers began to cross, a terrible roar sounded very close, and, looking around, they saw that two huge beasts with the bodies of a bear and the heads of a tiger were rushing at them.

- It's Kalidahi! cried the Cowardly Lion in horror, trembling all over.

Dorothy scooped Toto up in her arms and hurried across the bridge to the other side. The Straw Man and the Tin Woodman followed her. Leo was the last to cross the bridge. As he stepped to the ground, he turned and snarled at the Kalidahs. Kalidahi at first recoiled, but seeing that their opponent was not so formidable, besides, he was alone, and there were two of them, rushed forward.

The Tin Woodman immediately began to chop down the tree, and just at that moment, when the kalidahis were already quite close, the tree trunk broke with a crack and collapsed into the abyss. And then the growling monsters flew down and crashed on sharp stones at the bottom of the abyss.

After such an adventure, the travelers hurried to get out of the forest as soon as possible. They quickened their pace and soon came to a fast river. The Tin Woodman took out an ax and cut down some small trees to make a raft out of them. When the raft was ready, the travelers boarded it. They sailed safely from the shore, but in the middle of the river, the raft was picked up by a swift current and carried away from the road, paved with yellow bricks. The river was so deep that the long poles with which the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman steered the raft did not reach the bottom.

“Bad business,” said the Tin Woodman. “If we don’t make it to land, we will be swept away to the Land of the Wicked Witch of the West, and she will turn us into her slaves.

– We must get to the Emerald City! cried the Straw Man, and pushed off with the pole so hard that the end of the pole sank into the mud at the bottom of the river. The Straw Man did not have time to pull it out: the raft slipped out from under his feet. And the poor little man remained hanging in the middle of the river, clinging to a pole.

The lion plunged bravely into the water, and the Tin Woodman grabbed hold of his tail. Friends wanted to swim up to the scarecrow to help him.

Meanwhile, a stork was flying over the river; he saved the scarecrow. The Straw Man warmly thanked the stork. He was so happy to be among his friends again that he embraced them all in joy.

- Thanks! Dorothy also thanked his savior. The good stork soared into the sky and soon disappeared from sight.

The travelers walked and walked and finally saw a whole field of scarlet poppies in front of them. Everyone who inhaled the aroma of these flowers fell into a dream. And if a traveler falls asleep right on a poppy field, he will sleep forever. This is what happened to Dorothy - in a few minutes she was fast asleep.

- What do we do? asked the Tin Woodman.

“If we leave her here, she will die,” said the Lion. The smell of these flowers will kill us all. My own eyes are drooping. I better get my feet out of here as soon as possible.

Toto and Dorothy were sound asleep, but the Straw Man and the Tin Woodman were not affected by the scent of the flowers, for they were not flesh and blood. They put Toto on Dorothy's lap and carried her away. There seemed to be no end to the huge carpet of deadly flowers. And suddenly they saw the Lion: sleep fell him almost at the very edge of the field. And then stretched meadows, overgrown with thick grass.

“There is nothing we can do to help him,” said the Tin Woodman sadly. It's too heavy, we can't lift it. Have to leave him. He will sleep forever, and perhaps dream that he has found courage at last.

They carried Dorothy and Toto as far as they could and lowered them carefully to the ground, away from the dangerous flowers. Suddenly the Woodcutter heard a dull growl: a huge wild cat was chasing a small field mouse. The cat's mouth was wide open, two rows of sharp teeth flashed predatory, red eyes burned. And the Woodcutter, although he had no heart, realized that he could not allow the killing of a defenseless tiny creature. He swung his ax and cut off the cat's head.

When the danger had passed, the field mouse approached its savior and said in a trembling voice:

I am so grateful to you - you saved my life. I am the Queen of the Field Mice. Let my subjects thank you for this brave act. They will fulfill your every wish.

The Tin Woodman asked the mouse to save their friend, the Cowardly Lion. The Queen told her subjects to bring ropes to drag the Cowardly Lion from the field on a cart that the Tin Woodman had meanwhile fashioned from branches.

The mice harnessed themselves to the cart, the Straw Man and the Tin Woodman leaned in from behind - and soon the Lion was dragged out of the poppy field. Dorothy, who had already woken up from her intoxicating dream, warmly thanked the little mice for saving her friend from death.

The mice, having done their job, jumped out of the cart and darted into the grass, hurrying to their homes. Only the Queen stayed behind.

“If you ever need our help again,” she said, “come to this field and call us. We will hear your call and come. And now, goodbye.

- Bye! the friends answered in chorus, and the Queen disappeared into the thick grass.

Everyone sat down near the Lion and began to wait for his awakening.

At last the Cowardly Lion woke up and was very glad to be convinced that he was alive.

When Leo finally came to his senses, they continued along the yellow brick road. The land they were in was beautiful. The hedges and houses along the road were painted green. The people wore emerald green robes and the same pointed hats that the Munchkins wore.

“Looks like this is the Land of Oz,” Dorothy said. “So the Emerald City is close.”

Soon the travelers saw a wonderful green glow over the horizon.

They continued on their way, and the radiance grew brighter. At noon, the travelers approached the high wall that surrounded the city. The wall was also green.

Friends found themselves in front of a large gate, decorated with emeralds, which sparkled and shimmered in the sun. Dorothy saw a bell at the gate and rang it. The gate slowly opened, and the travelers entered a room with a high vaulted ceiling, emeralds shimmering on the walls.

In front of the friends sat a little man about the same height as the Munchkins. He was dressed in green from head to toe, even his skin had a greenish tinge. Near the man stood a large chest - also green.

– What do you need in the Emerald City? – asked the little man who came.

“We came to see the Great Oz,” Dorothy said bravely.

The man was very surprised.

“Few people get to see Oz,” he said. “But I, the Gatekeeper, will take you to the palace. Just put on those green glasses first so you don't get blinded by the glitz and opulence of the Emerald City. Even the inhabitants of our city wear such glasses day and night.

The guard opened the chest. It contained glasses of all shapes and sizes. The Gatekeeper has chosen the right glasses for each of the travelers.

Then he himself put on his glasses and announced that he was ready to escort the guests to the palace. Then he removed a large golden key from a nail, unlocked another gate, and his friends followed him out into the streets of the Emerald City.

Although the eyes of Dorothy and her friends were protected by green glasses, for the first moment they were blinded by the brilliance of the wonderful city. On both sides of the streets stood green marble houses decorated with emeralds. The pavement was also paved with marble slabs; the gaps between the slabs were filled with emeralds, sparkling in the sun. The windows were made of green glass, even the sky above the city was light green, and the sun cast green rays.

The streets were full of people; all the townspeople were dressed in green robes, and all had greenish skin. All of them looked with curiosity at Dorothy and her unusual companions, and the children, at the sight of the Lion, hid behind their mothers, but no one spoke to the travelers. There were many shops and stalls on the street. Dorothy noticed that all the goods in them were green.

There didn't seem to be any horses or other animals in the city. People carried all their luggage themselves in small green carts. Everyone looked happy and quite satisfied with life.

The travelers who followed the Guardian soon reached the palace. At the door stood a guard with a long green beard, in a green uniform.

“Foreigners have come,” the Gatekeeper addressed him, “and they want to see the Great Uz.

“Come in,” the guard replied. “I will report you to the Great Oz.

Friends passed through the palace gates, the Guard led them to a beautifully furnished green room and left.

Friends had to wait a long time for his return. Finally he returned with the words:

“Oz will receive you, but you must come to him one at a time, and each will be assigned a specific day for this. In the meantime, I will show you rooms in the palace where you can comfortably sit and relax.

The next morning a maid came for Dorothy. She brought a lovely dress of green satin and helped the girl to dress. Dorothy put on a green silk apron, tied a green bow around Toto's neck, and they went to the throne room of the Great Oz.

Dorothy stepped excitedly across the threshold of the hall. It was a large round room with a high vaulted ceiling, and the walls were decorated with emeralds. The sun shone through a round window in the center of the dome, and emeralds shone dazzlingly in its rays.

In the center of the hall was a green marble throne adorned with precious stones. On the throne rested a huge bald head without a body.

Dorothy looked at the head with curiosity and fear, and the eyes of the head stared at her. Then the lips moved, and Dorothy heard a voice:

“I am Oz, the Great and Terrible. Who are you and why are you looking for me?

Dorothy plucked up her courage and answered:

“I am Dorothy, Little and Meek. I came to you for help.

Her eyes gazed thoughtfully at her for a full minute. Then the voice asked:

Where did you get your silver shoes from?

“I got them from the Wicked Witch of the East when my house fell on her and crushed her,” the girl answered.

- What do you want from me? Oz asked.

“Please help me get back to Kansas, to Aunt Em and Uncle Henry,” Dorothy said pleadingly. “Aunty Em must be terribly worried that I’ve been away for so long.

“Well then,” said Oz. “But first you have to do something for me. You must kill the Wicked Witch of the West.

- But I can not! Dorothy screamed.

“You killed the Wicked Witch of the East and you are wearing her silver shoes, which contain magic power. Now there is only one Wicked Witch left in this country, and when you bring me news of her death, I will send you back to Kansas - but not before.

Saddened, Dorothy left the throne room and returned to her friends, who were eager to know what Oz had told her.

“I have no hope,” Dorothy said with a sigh. “Oz won't bring me home until I kill the Wicked Witch of the West, and I'll never be able to do that.

Her friends were very upset, but how could they help her?! Dorothy returned to her room and wept there until sleep broke her.

The next day, the Straw Man was called to Oz. Oz appeared before him in the form of a beautiful lady with light silk wings behind her back.

The next day the Tin Woodman went to Oz. Before him, Oz appeared in the form of a huge monster. And when the Lion entered the throne room, he saw a large fireball. Oz asked each of the travelers to kill the Wicked Witch of the West.

– What do we do now? Dorothy asked when they got together.

“There is only one thing left for us,” said the Lion. – Go to the Land of Winkies, find the Wicked Witch and destroy her. Maybe we can deal with it?

And they decided that the next morning they would set off.

A guard with a green mustache escorted his friends through the streets of the Emerald City to the entrance gate. The gatekeeper took off their glasses, put them in the chest and graciously opened the city gates to the friends.

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

“There is no such road,” said the Gatekeeper. “No one would dare to set out on this road.

“But how can we find the Witch then?” - the girl was confused.

“It will be easy,” the Guardian said. “As soon as the Sorceress finds out that you have come to the Land of Winkies, she herself will find you and make you her slaves. Be careful: she is cunning and cunning - it is unlikely that you will be able to defeat her. Go west, where the sun sets, and you will certainly find it.

Soon the Emerald City was left behind. Our travelers went farther and farther; the terrain they were walking on became more and more hilly.

By noon the sun began to bake; there was not a single tree around to hide in its shade. Long before nightfall, Dorothy, Toto, and the Lion were completely exhausted, lay down on the grass and fell asleep. The Woodcutter and the Straw Man remained on guard.

The Wicked Witch of the West has long noticed Dorothy and her friends from the window of her castle. She became furious when she saw them in her country. The Evil Witch raised the silver whistle that hung around her neck to her lips and blew into it.

A whole pack of wolves immediately rushed to her. They had strong legs, ferocious eyes and sharp teeth.

“Seize the strangers,” the Sorceress ordered, “and tear them to shreds.

“Willingly,” growled the Wolf Leader and rushed forward, the whole pack rushed after him.

Luckily, the Straw Man and the Woodcutter were awake and heard the wolves coming towards them.

The woodcutter grabbed an ax and began to chop off the heads of all the wolves that pounced on him. When the Witch saw that all the wolves were dead, and the strangers were safe and sound, she became even more angry. And she again blew the whistle twice.

A huge flock of ravens flocked to her. The Evil Witch ordered the Raven King:

“Fly now to these strangers, gouge out their eyes and tear them to shreds.

The ravens flew towards Dorothy and her companions. At their approach, the Straw Man jumped up and spread his arms, blocking his friends sleeping on the ground. Seeing him, the crows were frightened: after all, scarecrows are needed to scare away birds. They did not dare to fly closer. But the Raven King said:

“Yes, it’s just a man stuffed with straw!” Now I'll gouge out his eyes!

And the Raven King rushed forward, but the Straw Man grabbed his head and twisted his neck. The same fate befell the entire flock.

The Evil Witch looked out the window, saw that all the crows were dead, and went into a terrible rage. She summoned a dozen of her Winky slaves, gave them sharp spears, and told them to kill the intruders.

The Winkies went to follow orders. But as soon as they approached Dorothy, the Lion growled menacingly and rushed at them. The poor Winkies were so frightened that they ran away.

The Wicked Witch was beside herself with rage. She put on her head the Golden Helmet, which had magical powers. The one who put it on could three times - but only three times! – call the Winged Monkeys, who were ready to fulfill any order. Twice the Monkeys have already served. This was the last time the Wicked Witch could count on the help of the Winged Monkeys. There was a noise of many wings, and soon the Wicked Witch was surrounded on all sides by the Winged Monkeys.

The witch ordered:

“Fly to the strangers who have come to my country, and destroy them all, except for the Lion. Bring the lion to me, I will make him walk in a harness and work like a horse.

The Winged Monkeys flew to Dorothy and her friends. Some monkeys grabbed the Tin Woodman, took him to the mountains and threw him into the abyss. The unfortunate Woodcutter fell on sharp stones, where he remained lying, broken and crumpled.

The other monkeys clung to the Straw Man and yanked all the straw out of his head and clothes. The monkeys tied the Lion with ropes, lifted him into the air and carried him to the Witch's castle. There he was thrown into a small courtyard surrounded by a high iron fence; The lion couldn't get out of there.

But no one dared to touch Dorothy: after all, the kiss of the Good Fairy was imprinted on her forehead. The Winged Monkeys carried Dorothy to the Wicked Witch's castle and lowered her to the ground. The leader of the Monkeys said to the Sorceress:

We have carried out the order. The Tin Woodman and the Straw Man are destroyed, and the bound Lion lies in the yard behind the fence. But we dare not harm this little girl or the little dog she holds in her arms.

And the Winged Monkeys soared into the air with a noise and disappeared from sight.

The Wicked Witch was both surprised and alarmed when she saw the mark on Dorothy's forehead and her magical silver shoes: even she could not do anything with the magical power protecting the girl. But she immediately realized that Dorothy herself did not know anything about the magical power of the shoes. “But I can turn this girl into a slave,” thought the Sorceress. “She doesn’t know what power she has.”

And the Wicked Witch hissed:

- Follow me! You do whatever I tell you, or I'll deal with you the same way I dealt with the Tin Woodman and the Straw Man.

The witch forced the girl to work in the kitchen. Dorothy decided to work hard: she was also glad that the Witch let her live. The lion was kept in the yard; it was ordered not to feed him until he became meek and obedient.

Every night, when the Witch fell asleep, Dorothy secretly brought food to the Lion from the pantry. When he had satisfied his hunger, he would lie down on a bed of straw, and Dorothy would sit beside him, resting her head on his soft, shaggy mane; they shared their troubles with each other and discussed the escape plan. But it was impossible to find a way to escape: the castle was guarded by Winkies, who were subjugated by the Evil Witch. They were so afraid of their mistress that they did not dare to disobey her orders.

The Wicked Witch dreamed of taking possession of the silver shoes that Dorothy wore without taking off: after all, they had great power. To get the shoes, the Witch set a trap for the girl. She placed an iron bar on the threshold of the kitchen and bewitched it so that it became invisible to human eyes. As soon as Dorothy crossed the threshold, she stumbled over an invisible beam and fell. She was not hurt, but one of the silver slippers fell off her foot as she fell. Before Dorothy had reached out her hand to the slipper, the Witch grabbed the slipper and pulled it over her foot.

Dorothy, seeing that one of her lovely slippers had been taken from her, became very angry. She grabbed a bucket and doused the Witch with water from head to toe.

And at the same moment the Wicked Witch screamed in horror and melted before the eyes of the astonished Dorothy.

Dorothy picked up the silver slipper - all that was left of the evil old woman - wiped it dry and put it on her foot. Then she ran out into the yard, freed the Lion from his imprisonment, and informed him that the Wicked Witch of the West was dead. Together they went to the castle. Dorothy called all the Winkies and announced to them that the power of the evil sorceress had come to an end and from now on they were free.

That was the joy of the yellow Miguns! After all, they have worked hard for the Wicked Witch for so many years.

As a token of their gratitude, the Winkies found and repaired the Tin Woodman and Straw Man, who had been crippled by the Monkeys. How glad the friends were to get together again!

The next day they said goodbye to Migunami. Now that they had fulfilled Oz's condition, it was time for them to return to the Emerald City so that Oz would fulfill his promises. The Winkies loved the Tin Woodman so much that they asked him to return to them and become the ruler of the Yellow Country of the West.

Donning the Witch's Golden Helm, Dorothy summoned the Winged Monkeys and ordered them to take her and her friends to Oz. In the Emerald City, they were immediately taken to the wizard. Each of the friends thought that they would see Oz in the form in which he appeared before, but, to their surprise, there was no one in the room.

Attention! This is an introductory section of the book.

If you liked the beginning of the book, then full version can be purchased from our partner - a distributor of legal content LLC "LitRes".

Enjoy reading!
L F Baum

Baum L F

Amazing in The Wizard of Oz
Baum L.F.

Amazing in The Wizard of Oz.

Foreword

The American writer Lyman Frank Baum /1856-1919/ entered the history of world literature as the creator of one of the most famous, most read fairy tale serials. Like the books of L. Carroll and A. Milne, J. R. Tolkien and J. Barry, Baum's stories have crossed national literary boundaries: more and more new generations of the inhabitants of our planet are brought up on them.

Baum's characters - the girl Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, the Cowardly Lion - in their popularity can compete with such favorites of children and adults as Alice and Winnie the Pooh, hobbits and Peter Pan.

For almost a century now, the works of the Court Historian of Oz, as Baum liked to call himself, have been published and republished in America, translated into dozens of foreign languages, plays, musicals, and films are based on them. Civilization does not stand still the latest technology change our lives beyond recognition, but intricate computer games and super series are not able to obscure Baum's fairy tales, because they deal with the Most Important and Necessary - about strong friendship, about self-confidence, about the ability to win in the most difficult circumstances. Baum's books are full of amazing characters and incredible adventures, but the main thing in them is amazing warmth, cheerful kindness, optimism.

The famous American science fiction writer Ray Bradbury, an ardent fan of Baum's series, noted that in these fairy tales "solid sweet buns, honey and summer vacations." Carroll's Wonderland compared to Oz is "cooled porridge of arithmetic at six in the morning, pouring ice water and long sitting at the desk." According to Bradbury, Wonderland is preferred by intellectuals, and dreamers choose Oz: "Wonderland is what we are, and Oz is what we would like to become."

The name of this magical land, according to the Baum family legend, was born by accident. On a May evening in 1898, Baum told his children and neighbors another fairy tale, composing it on the go. Someone asked where all this is happening. Baum looked around the room, looked at the home file cabinet with drawers A-N and O-Z and said, "In the Land of Oz."

"The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" was released in 1900 and was so loved by readers that Baum decided to continue the story of a wonderful country. Readers were looking forward to new stories, but, having released the sixth tale in 1910, the author decided to take a break. He published two tales about the girl Grotto and Captain Bill, which were generally well received by readers, but they could not think that the story of Oz was completed. Letters were sent with protests, with proposals to return to their favorite characters. Actually, the fans of Sherlock Holmes reacted about the same when Conan Doyle rebelled and decided to part with his hero. The insidious plans of both writers were doomed to failure. Readers took over - both Conan Doyle and Baum returned to their series.

Baum left fourteen Oz stories. Perhaps he would have written more, but death from a heart attack turned the tables on the Court Historian of Oz. However, reader love has turned the dot into an ellipsis. Also in 1919, Reilly & Lee, a publishing house specializing in the Oz story, commissioned a twenty-year-old Philadelphia journalist, Ruth Plumley Thompson, to continue the series.

Ruth Thompson fulfilled her task well, and as for the number of titles that came out from under her pen, here she surpassed Baum himself. The tradition of "continuation" did not die out - a variety of writers took over the baton. Tried his luck in this area and the illustrator of most of Baum's lifetime editions, John Neal, who offered readers three of his stories.

A new surge of interest in Baum came at the end of the fifties. At the initiative of a thirteen-year-old schoolboy from New York, in 1957, the International Club of the Wizard of Oz was created. The club exists to this day and has its own periodical, which, as you might guess, deals with the details of life in the magical Land of Oz and the latest publications on this burning topic.

In the same 1939, when Americans lined up outside movie theaters to watch the Hollywood version of The Wizard of Oz starring Judy Garland as Doroga, Alexander Volkov retold the series' first tale in Russian. On the whole, he kept to the original quite carefully, although he omitted a few scenes (the episode with the Warring Trees, the story of the Flying Monkeys, the visit to Porcelain Land). Subsequently, Volkov proposed his own series, inspired by Baum's motives.

The real discovery of Baum in Russia, however, falls on the nineties. The first sign here was a book published in 1991 in the Moscow Rabochy, which included the second, third and thirteenth tales of the series, and a little later a translation of the Wizard was proposed, where Volkov's Ellie gave way to Baum's Dorothy and the text appeared in its original form - without cuts and additions.

This edition is the most complete of all ever undertaken in Russia. First, this is the entire Baum series:

1. "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" / 1900 /

2. "Land of Oz" / 1903 /.

3. "Ozma from Oz" /1907/.

4. "Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz" / 1908 /.

5. "Journey to Oz" /1909/.

6. "Emerald City of Oz" / 1910 /.

7. "Patchwork from the Land of Oz" / 1913 /.

8. "Tik-Tok from the Land of Oz" / 1914 /.

9. "The Scarecrow of Oz" /1915/.

10. "Rinkitink in Oz" /1916/.

11. "The Lost Princess of Oz" / 1917 /.

12. "The Tin Woodman of Oz" /1918/.

13. "The Magic of Oz" / 1919 /.

14. "Glinda of Oz" / 1920 /.

Secondly, readers have the opportunity to get acquainted with the "Sea Fairies", where the characters of the series act, although the Land of Oz itself remains behind the scenes. In addition, the fairy tale "Jenny Geek in Oz" by illustrator John Neil Baum is also published.

Baum did not prepare for publication the complete works devoted to the Land of Oz - otherwise, he might have drawn attention to some discrepancies in the interpretation of events, including the origin of the magical land itself. We, however, did not dare to intrude on Baum's texts and left everything in accordance with the original.

^ AMAZING WIZARD FROM THE COUNTRY 03

1. Hurricane

The girl Dorothy lived in a small house in the middle of the vast Kansas steppe. Her uncle Henry was a farmer and Aunt Em ran the household. The house was small, because the boards for its construction had to be transported by cart from afar. It had four walls, a roof, a floor, and a single room containing an old, rusty stove, a cupboard, a table, a few chairs, and two beds. In one corner was Uncle Henry's and Aunt Em's big bed, and in the other was Dorothy's little bed. There was no attic in the house, and no basement either, except for a hole under the floor, where the family escaped from hurricanes.

In these places, the hurricanes were so ferocious that it cost them nothing to sweep a small house out of their way. There was a trapdoor on the floor in the middle of the room, and underneath it was a ladder that led to the hideout.

Going out of the house and looking around, Dorothy saw only the steppe around. It stretched to the very horizon: a dull plain - no tree, no house. The sun in these parts was so hot that the plowed earth under its burning rays instantly turned into a gray caked mass. The grass, too, quickly turned gray, like everything around. Uncle Henry had once painted the house, but the sun had begun to crack the paint, and the rains had completely washed it away, and now it was the same dull gray as everything else. When Aunt Em first came to these places, she was pretty and cheerful. But the scorching sun and ferocious hurricanes did their job: perky sparks quickly disappeared from her eyes, and a blush from her cheeks. The face is gray and haggard. Aunt Em lost weight and forgot how to smile. When the orphaned Dorothy first came to this house, her laughter frightened Aunt Em so much that she shuddered and clutched at her heart every time. And now, when Dorothy laughed, Aunt Em looked at her in surprise, as if she did not understand what could be funny in this gray life.

As for Uncle Henry, he never laughed. From morning to evening he worked with all his might, and he had no time for fun. He, too, was all gray, from his beard to his rough shoes. He looked stern, concentrated, and rarely spoke.

Only dog Totoshka entertained Dorothy, not allowing her to succumb to the dullness that reigned around. Toto was not grey. He had a charming, silky black coat, a funny black nose, and small, perky black eyes that sparkled with merriment. Toto could play from morning till night, and Dorothy was doting on her faithful friend.

But today they had no time for games. Uncle Henry went out onto the porch, sat on the step, and gazed up at the sky. It was grayer than usual. Dorothy, who was standing next to Toto in her arms, also looked up at the sky. Aunt Em was in the house washing dishes. Far to the north, the wind howled softly, and the long grass near the horizon rippled in waves. The same quiet howl was heard from the opposite, southern side. Uncle Henry and Dorothy turned to the new noise and saw that there too the grass was rippling like the sea.

Uncle Henry stood up from the steps.

There's a hurricane coming, Em! he called to his wife. - I'll go and see how the cattle is! - And he ran to the stalls, where there were cows and horses.

Aunt Em left the dishes and went to the door. One quick glance was enough for her to understand that trouble was coming.

Dorothy! she called. - Live in the shelter!

At that moment, Toto jumped out of Dorothy's arms and crawled under the bed. The girl rushed to catch him. Frightened, Aunt Em opened the hatch and quickly began to descend the stairs to the shelter. Finally Dorothy caught Toto and decided to follow Aunt Em. But before she could take a step, the wind howled terribly and the little house shook so that the girl lost her balance and sat on the floor.

It was then that the incredible happened.

The house rotated around its axis several times, and then began to slowly rise into the air, like a balloon.

Just in the place where Dorothy's house stood, two winds north and south collided, and from this collision a ferocious hurricane was born. In the very center of the hurricane it is usually quite quiet, but because the air currents pressed harder and harder on the walls of the house, he rose higher and higher until he was on the crest of a huge air wave that carried him like a light feather.

Outside the windows it was dark, dark, and the wind howled like a wild beast. In fact, it was even pleasant to fly. Except for the fact that at first the house swayed a little, and once it tilted very strongly, Dorothy felt only a slight rocking, as in a cradle.

But Totoshka obviously did not like it. With a loud bark, he rushed around the room around the hostess, and she quietly sat on her floor and tried to understand what would happen next.

Once Totoshka gaped and landed in an open hatch. At first Dorothy thought he was gone forever. But then I saw that the edge of a black ear was sticking out of the hatch. Air pressure did not allow the dog to fall to the ground. Dorothy crawled to the hatch, grabbed Toto by the ear and pulled him back. She then slammed the trap door shut to prevent something like this from happening again.

Time passed, and finally Dorothy calmed down completely. But she was lonely, and besides, the wind howled with such force that Dorothy was afraid of deafening. At first she thought that the house would fall and she and Totoshka would be crushed to death, but nothing of the sort happened. Then Dorothy forgot about the excitement and decided to hope for the best. She crawled along the shaking floor to her bed, climbed on it, and Totoshka perched beside her. Despite the fact that the house shook and the wind roared with might and main, Dorothy closed her eyes and soon fell asleep.

^ 2. TALKING WITH MUNCHING PEOPLE

Dorothy was awakened by a shock so strong and sudden that, had she not been lying on the soft bed, she would have hurt herself badly. The girl quickly pulled herself together and began to think what had happened. Toto buried his cold nose in her face and whimpered. Dorothy sat up in bed and found she wasn't flying anywhere else. The sun shone brightly through the window. Dorogi got out of bed and, accompanied by the faithful Totoshka, went to the door and flung it open.

What she saw made her widen her eyes and scream in surprise.

The hurricane lowered her house - I must say, rather gently for a hurricane in a charming country. A green lawn with fruit trees strewn with ripe and juicy fruits stretched around. Amazing flowers grew everywhere. Birds perched on the trees and bushes and sang in all their voices. Not far away a transparent stream ran, whispering something very pleasant - at least it seemed to the girl, who had lived all her life in the dry, arid steppe.

Dorothy stood and admired these miracles and did not notice how a group of very strange people. They were about the same height as Dorothy, but it was still clear that they were adults. Three men and a woman were dressed in fancy costumes. They all wore tall, pointed hats with bells that tinkled melodiously as they walked. The men's hats were blue, the women's were white. She also wore a white cloak that fell loosely from her shoulders and was adorned with stars that sparkled in the sun like small diamonds. The men were dressed in all blue and shod in sparkling boots with blue over the knee boots. Dorothy thought they were about the same age as Uncle Henry. Two of them had beards. And the woman was older. Her face was all wrinkled, and she moved with difficulty.

Approaching the house, on the threshold of which Dorothy stood, the strangers began to whisper to each other, as if they were afraid to come closer. At last the little old woman came up to Dorothy and bowed low to her, and said in a pleasant voice:

Welcome to the Land of the Munchkins, O noble sorceress! We really thank you for killing the Wicked Witch of the East and freeing the Munchkins from slavery!