The Wonderful Wizard of Oz | Page 3

growing bigger and bigger at the wonderful sights she saw.
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
greensward all about, with stately trees bearing rich and luscious fruits.
Banks of gorgeous flowers were on every hand, and birds with rare and
brilliant plumage sang and fluttered in the trees and bushes. A little
way off was a small brook, rushing and sparkling along between green
banks, and murmuring in a voice very grateful to a little girl who had
lived so long on the dry, gray prairies.

While she stood looking eagerly at the strange and beautiful sights, she
noticed coming toward her a group of the queerest people she had ever
seen. They were not as big as the grown folk she had always been used
to; but neither were they very small. In fact, 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 were oddly dressed. They
wore round hats that rose to a small point a foot above their heads, with
little bells around the brims that tinkled sweetly as they moved. The
hats of the men were blue; the little woman's hat was white, and she
wore a white gown that hung in pleats from her shoulders. Over it were
sprinkled little stars that glistened in the sun like diamonds. The men
were dressed in blue, of the same shade as their hats, and wore
well-polished boots with a deep roll of blue at the tops. The men,
Dorothy thought, were about as old as Uncle Henry, for two of them
had beards. But the little woman was doubtless much older. Her face
was covered with wrinkles, her hair was nearly white, and she walked
rather stiffly.
When these people drew near the house where Dorothy was standing in
the doorway, they paused and whispered among themselves, as if afraid
to come farther. But the little old woman walked up to Dorothy, made a
low bow and said, in a sweet voice:
"You are welcome, most 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."
Dorothy listened to this speech with wonder. What could the little
woman possibly mean by calling her a sorceress, and saying she had
killed the Wicked Witch of the East? Dorothy was an innocent,
harmless little girl, who had been carried by a cyclone many miles from
home; and she had never killed anything in all her life.
But the little woman evidently expected her to answer; so Dorothy said,
with hesitation, "You are very kind, but there must be some mistake. I
have not killed anything."

"Your house did, anyway," replied the little old woman, with a laugh,
"and that is the same thing. See!" she continued, pointing to the corner
of the house. "There are her two feet, still sticking out from under a
block of wood."
Dorothy looked, and gave a little cry of fright. There, indeed, just under
the corner of the great beam the house rested on, two feet were sticking
out, shod in silver shoes with pointed toes.
"Oh, dear! Oh, dear!" cried Dorothy, clasping her hands together in
dismay. "The house must have fallen on her. Whatever shall we do?"
"There is nothing to be done," said the little woman calmly.
"But who was she?" asked Dorothy.
"She was the Wicked Witch of the East, as I said," answered the little
woman. "She 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?" inquired Dorothy.
"They are the people who live in this land of the East where the Wicked
Witch ruled."
"Are you a Munchkin?" asked Dorothy.
"No, but I am their friend, although I live in the land of the North.
When they saw the Witch of the East was dead the Munchkins sent a
swift messenger to me, and I came at once. I am the Witch of the
North."
"Oh, gracious!" cried Dorothy. "Are you a real witch?"
"Yes, indeed," answered the little woman. "But I am a good witch, and
the 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, who was half
frightened at facing a real witch. "Oh, no, that is a great