Abducted to Oz | Page 2

LITTLE BRAT!" She reached her arms out of the mirror, grabbed him,
and shook him hard. She shook and shook until he thought he was
going to be sick. Then she lifted him right up off the floor and into the
mirror. By now Graham was absolutely terrified. He kicked and
screamed and tried to escape, but to no avail. The Witch was much too
strong for him. He found himself dragged to the other side of the mirror
and out into a room in the Witch's castle, whereupon the Witch

immediately released her grip, for she knew that the boy had nowhere
to run.
"Well, what say you now, squirt? Do you still hate me?" cackled the
Witch, breaking into fits of hideous laughter.
"Oh, no. Not anymore," replied Graham, his voice trembling. "I think
you're pretty nice, um, all things considered."
"Oh, come now!" replied the Witch. "Let's be reasonable. You don't
really think that. You're just afraid of what I might do to you. Look at
you. You're shaking in your boots!"
"I'm afraid, yes," said Graham. "Really afraid. But I don't think you'll
harm me after you hear what I have to say."
"Oh," replied the Witch. "Really? And what might that be?"
Graham knew he had piqued her interest and was now desperately
trying to think of a plausible story that would keep her occupied while
he tried to figure out a way to escape. He had managed to see out of
one of her windows and knew he was, without a doubt, in the Land of
Oz.
[Illustration]
CHAPTER TWO
:
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Now, in the event that this book may have fallen into the hands of
someone who is unfamiliar with the marvelous Land of Oz, it seems
fitting that an explanation be inserted right about here. Oz is an
oblong-shaped country that is surrounded on all sides by a vast Deadly
Desert that is supposed to keep visitors out. Even so, it has been visited
by any number of American children prior to Graham's visit. Some

came by way of invitation, but mostly they arrived by accident. The
most famous of these visitors, of course, was little Dorothy Gale.
Dorothy traveled to Oz via a powerful cyclone which carried her house
and herself over the massive desert and plopped her on top of a
particularly evil Witch. With the help of a live Scarecrow, a man made
out of tin, and a Cowardly Lion, she was able to find her way back to
her home in America. She returned a short time later and had a
wonderful new series of adventures in which she met Princess Saari,
Gayelette, and even some Fuzzy Yellow Wogglebugs. It was but a few
years after that when little Dorothy finally consented to become a
citizen of Oz and live there happily--or reasonably so--for many years
thereafter. In fact, even after nearly eighty-five years, she remains an
honorary princess of that lovely country. Because no one has to ever
grow old or die in this singular land, Dorothy remains as young and
innocent as on the day she first arrived. At one point, Dorothy was
joined by a fine young boy named Button-Bright, who was about as
bright as a cloth-covered button. Trot Griffiths, Betsy Bobbin, and
several others have also agreed to live the rest of their days in Oz rather
than returning home to the mortal lands, where illness and death and
aging are common.
Because Oz citizens only age when they wish to do so, on one's
birthday all one is required to do is to wish to stay the same age for
another year, and it will be so. This would certainly please most of the
people in our mortal lands, but it would hardly be practical here due to
the ever-increasing overpopulation problem.
[Illustration]
The Land of Oz is divided into five sections. To the North is the
Gillikin territory. The Gillikins favor the color purple above all others
and are known to paint their homes, barns, and silos in this color. To
the South lies the land of the Quadlings. Here, the revered color is red.
The area is governed by a powerful but Good Witch named Glinda, and
Glinda is considered an enemy to all of the evil Witches. The very
center is the Emerald City. It has been called the most glorious place on
the face of the earth (or even the moon or Mars), and rightly so. It is so

lovely, in fact, that it defies description. And it is from here that the
overall ruler is able to reign above all five regions.
In the West can be found the yellow Winkie Country. The Emperor of
this region is none other than Nick Chopper, the tin man who had
befriended