Abducted to Oz | Page 5

tiny explosions began to appear above the
melted Witch. Kabumpo was so startled that he did not see how close
he was getting to the Hungry Tiger. Feeling a heavy elephant's foot on
his striped tail, the Tiger jumped eight hundred yards ahead. He landed
on Princess Saari, breaking a hole in the top of her float, into which
they both fell. From this hole emanated a radiant green light. The light
ricocheted off of the Glass Cat's tail and struck the gray light that had
been circling the Elfland float. Now, it is commonly known among Oz
scholars that a cyclone is created when hot and cold air meet in one
place. It was the same way when the two magical types of light collided.
The dizzying green light splashed at the other-worldly gray light, and a
funnel cloud emerged. It whirled about until it surrounded the popping
mass of sugared juice. When the twister had subsided, thanks to the
magic of Glinda and the Wizard, there stood a hideous green-faced
woman in a black outfit. On her head she wore a black pointed hat. In
her hand was a broomstick.
[Illustration]
"Who's sh-she?" stuttered Dorothy.
"I don't know," replied Ozma. "She looks like a Witch! But not like any
of the Witches I've ever known about!"

"I am the Wicked Witch of the West!" shouted the woman in a
maniacal voice.
"She doesn't look like the one I remember," said the Scarecrow. "This
one has two eyes and green skin. She must be an impostor."
"I am not an impostor!" bellowed the woman.
"But," said an elderly Winkie who remembered the original Witch,
"Witch Allidap had a patch over one eye and did not dress in pure black.
This is not her at all."
"I am too me! I just feel a little different today, that's all. I will prove to
you that I am Allidap!"
[Illustration]
CHAPTER FIVE
:
THE BEST LAID PLANS
It should be understood that, although the creature was really little
more than an unstable life-form produced by a one-of-a-kind series of
accidents, she believed that she was indeed the Wicked Witch of the
West. And as long as she suffered under this delusion, she was
dangerous to all of the Witch's enemies. Especially Dorothy, as her
primary memory was based upon the scene on the float, rather than any
history before or after the event depicted thereon. She was angry and
afraid, these being the emotions that were depicted in the sculpture.
And these emotions, as we all know, can lead one to do things that are
not particularly wholesome. Now, it was not too many seconds before
the false Witch hopped onto her broomstick and zoomed away from the
jeering crowd. She was a creature of resentment and hate, so she did
not feel safe in that environment. Instead, she determined to find a way
to reach her goals elsewhere. Knowing about the castle where the real
Witch had lived, she hid herself there to get her bearings. Because she

was not really Witch Allidap, she did not know much magic. But,
because of the magic in the colored lights, she knew just enough to
keep her from realizing the truth about her identity. Her appearance
was quite different from that of the real Allidap. There was a reason for
this, however. It seems that, at the very millisecond of her being
brought to life, someone who believed in her had thought about her.
And that someone had had a different impression of her. It was a silly
impression created not so much by the book as by a movie musical that
was televised annually. So that was the way the thinker imagined her to
look. Because of this, he had projected his impression onto the false
Witch. It also created a number of Allidap's memories in the mind of
the sugar-creature. And it also caused her to remember the thinker--a
little boy named Graham. He had been thinking about the original book
but visualized the Witch as she had looked in the movie. And because
he had an inordinate amount of homework to do, he was also feeling
quite resentful. Little did he dream that this combination of negative
emotions and vivid imagination would bring into manifestation a very
unpleasant creature! One that no decent young person should ever have
to encounter. But now Graham found himself face to face with the
Wicked Witch!
[Illustration]
She was in his home, and she was hardly filled with joy. She dragged
him to her castle and laughed at his utter helplessness. "You're just
afraid of what I might do to you," she said. "Look at you. You're
shaking in your boots!"
"I am afraid, yes," said Graham. "Really afraid. But I don't think you'll
harm