Chapter summaries

The Oz Series chapter by chapter

This encyclopedia covers chapters 1 to 100 of the story and shows the world as it stands at chapter 100, so it contains spoilers up to that point. To read it spoiler free, one chapter at a time, open the interactive codex.

100 chapter summaries, in order.

Chapters 1–10

Chapter 1
Dorothy, an orphan, lives on the great Kansas prairies with Uncle Henry, a farmer, and Aunt Em, the farmer's wife, in a small one-room house built from lumber hauled by wagon. The…
Chapter 2
Dorothy is awakened by a sudden severe shock that would have hurt her had she not been on the soft bed; Toto whines and puts his cold nose in her face. The house is no longer…
Chapter 3
Left alone and hungry, Dorothy cuts bread and butter from the cupboard, shares it with Toto, fills a pail with clear water from the brook, and gathers delicious fruit from the…
Chapter 4
After a few hours the yellow brick road grows rough, broken, and uneven, so the Scarecrow, having no brains, walks straight into holes and falls full length on the bricks; it…
Chapter 5
Dorothy awakes to sunshine with Toto already out chasing birds and squirrels, and finds the Scarecrow still standing patiently in his corner. She proposes searching for water to…
Chapter 6
Dorothy and her companions continue walking through the thick woods along the yellow brick road, now covered by dried branches and dead leaves that make the walking poor. Few…
Chapter 7
The travelers camp under a large tree since no houses are near; the Tin Woodman chops wood, Dorothy builds a fire, and she and Toto eat the last of their bread, leaving nothing…
Chapter 8
The travelers awake refreshed and full of hope, and Dorothy breakfasts on peaches and plums from the riverside trees. With the raft nearly done, the Tin Woodman cuts a few more…
Chapter 9
The Scarecrow judges they are near the yellow brick road, having come nearly as far as the river carried them. As the Tin Woodman is about to reply, he hears a low growl and sees…
Chapter 10
It is some time before the Cowardly Lion awakens from the poppies' deadly fragrance, but he is glad to find himself alive. Told how the field mice generously saved him from death,…

Chapters 11–20

Chapter 11
Even with green spectacles, Dorothy and her friends are dazzled by the Emerald City, whose streets are lined with green marble houses studded with sparkling emeralds; the pavement…
Chapter 12
The soldier with the green whiskers leads Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion through the Emerald City to the Guardian of the Gates, who unlocks their…
Chapter 13
The Cowardly Lion is pleased to learn the Wicked Witch was melted by a bucket of water, and Dorothy unlocks his prison gate to free him. Together they enter the castle, where…
Chapter 14
The four travelers set out from the castle of the Wicked Witch toward the Emerald City, but there is no road or pathway between them, since the Witch had sent the Winged Monkeys…
Chapter 15
The four travelers reach the great gate of the Emerald City and ring the bell, and the same Guardian of the Gates opens it, surprised at their return. When the Scarecrow explains…
Chapter 16
The next morning the Scarecrow goes to the Throne Room to receive his brains, telling his friends he will return as good as other men, and Dorothy assures him she has always liked…
Chapter 17
For three days Dorothy hears nothing from Oz, which are sad days for her though her friends are happy and content. The Scarecrow claims wonderful thoughts fill his head that no…
Chapter 18
Dorothy weeps bitterly at losing her hope of returning to Kansas, but on reflection is glad she did not go up in the balloon; she and her companions also feel sorry at losing Oz.…
Chapter 19
The next morning Dorothy kisses the green girl good-bye, and the travelers shake hands with the green-whiskered soldier who walks with them to the gate. The Guardian of the Gate,…
Chapter 20
While the Tin Woodman makes a ladder from wood found in the forest, Dorothy sleeps from the long walk, the Lion curls up to sleep, and Toto lies beside him. The Scarecrow watches…

Chapters 21–30

Chapter 21
After climbing down from the second china wall, the travelers find themselves in a disagreeable country full of bogs and marshes covered with tall, rank grass so thick it hides…
Chapter 22
The four travelers pass safely through the rest of the forest and, emerging from its gloom, see a steep hill covered from top to bottom with great pieces of rock. The Scarecrow…
Chapter 23
Before seeing Glinda, the travelers are taken to a room where they make themselves presentable: Dorothy washes her face and combs her hair, the Lion shakes the dust from his mane,…
Chapter 24
Aunt Em, having just come out of the house to water the cabbages, looks up and sees Dorothy running toward her. She cries out, folds the little girl in her arms, covers her face…
Chapter 25
In the Country of the Gillikins, at the North of the Land of Oz, lives a youth called Tip, whose full name old Mombi declares is Tippetarius, though no one uses so long a word.…
Chapter 26
After considering carefully, Tip decides the best place to locate Jack is at the bend in the road a little way from the house. Finding the figure heavy and awkward, he stands Jack…
Chapter 27
Tip, a boy living with the old witch Mombi in the Country of the Gillikins, resolves to run away rather than be turned into a marble garden statue as Mombi has threatened. He…
Chapter 28
As they journey on, Jack observes that his wooden joints will wear out with continued walking, and Tip privately regrets not having built Jack's limbs more sturdily, though he…
Chapter 29
The newly living Saw-Horse is astonished and, lacking a neck, spins in circles trying to see its own body; its stiff, kneeless legs cause it to bump into Jack Pumpkinhead and…
Chapter 30
At daybreak the Pumpkinhead wakes Tip, who bathes in a brook and eats bread and cheese before the party resumes the journey with Jack again perched on the Saw-Horse. Tip notices…

Chapters 31–40

Chapter 31
The Scarecrow, King of the Emerald City, is described as dressed in faded blue clothes with a small straw-stuffed sack for a head bearing a rudely painted face, his straw-stuffed…
Chapter 32
Anxious to rejoin Jack and the Saw-Horse, Tip walks half the distance to the Emerald City before finding himself hungry with his crackers and cheese all eaten. He comes upon a…
Chapter 33
Tip slips away from the girls and follows the fleeing Soldier with the Green Whiskers, reaching the palace before news of the conquest spreads, because the invading army lingers…
Chapter 34
Soaked and dripping, Tip shouts in the Saw-Horse's ear to keep still, and the horse floats calmly, its wooden body buoyant as a raft. When Tip calls it a fool, the horse asks the…
Chapter 35
Tip awakes soon after dawn to find the Scarecrow has already plucked a double-handful of ripe berries, which the boy eats as breakfast before the party resumes its journey. After…
Chapter 36
General Jinjur, commander of the Army of Revolt, is made uneasy by the Scarecrow's escape, fearing that if he and the Tin Woodman join forces it will endanger her army, since the…
Chapter 37
The Woggle-Bug recounts his history, honestly acknowledging he was born an ordinary Woggle-Bug who used arms and legs to crawl under stones and among grass roots, feeding on…
Chapter 38
The party soon finds the Saw-Horse limps because its new leg is slightly too long, so they halt while the Tin Woodman chops it down with his axe, after which the steed paces more…
Chapter 39
Approaching the Emerald City gateway, the travelers find it guarded by two girls of the Army of Revolt who draw knitting-needles from their hair and threaten to prod anyone who…
Chapter 40
In the throne room of the Emerald City, the Scarecrow reasons aloud that Jinjur is rightfully Queen and that his party has no legitimate claim to occupy her palace. The Woggle-Bug…

Chapters 41–50

Chapter 41
The adventurers reassemble on the palace roof, each having brought a queer assortment of items with no clear plan. The Woggle-Bug carried up the antlered head of a Gump taken from…
Chapter 42
The newly animated Gump speaks in a squeaky voice, calling its existence the most novel experience it ever heard of. It recalls that its last distinct memory was walking through…
Chapter 43
The Tin Woodman, normally peaceful but capable of fierce fighting, defends the party against the attacking Jackdaws by whirling his axe swiftly around his head. Despite beating…
Chapter 44
The Scarecrow celebrates that they can leave the Jackdaws' nest whenever they please, but the Tin Woodman advises waiting until morning to avoid night-flight trouble. The…
Chapter 45
The Army of Glinda the Good assembles at daybreak before the palace gates, grand and imposing: the girl soldiers wear pretty, gaily colored uniforms and carry silver-tipped spears…
Chapter 46
The Witch Mombi, at first frightened at being captured by the enemy in the form of the red rose, soon decides she is as safe in the Tin Woodman's buttonhole as on the bush, since…
Chapter 47
Glinda tells Mombi she is her prisoner and that further struggle is useless, inviting her to rest before being carried back to the tent. Mombi, breathless, asks why she is sought…
Chapter 48
When the tidings reach Queen Jinjur—that Mombi the Witch was captured, confessed her crime to Glinda, and that the long-lost Princess Ozma was discovered to be the boy Tip—Jinjur…
Chapter 49
A powerful wind joggles the ocean, building ripples into waves and waves into billows that roll higher than houses and tall trees, with deep gulfs between them, producing a…
Chapter 50
A strange noise—"Kut-kut-kut, ka-daw-kut!"—awakens Dorothy at daybreak under a clear, sunny sky. She had been dreaming she was back in the Kansas barn-yard among calves, pigs, and…

Chapters 51–60

Chapter 51
Walking back from the water toward the grove of trees, Dorothy comes to a flat stretch of white sand marked with queer signs, as if written with a stick. She asks the yellow hen…
Chapter 52
After roughly an hour, most of the band of Wheelers rolls back into the forest, leaving only three of their number to guard the hill; these three curl up like big dogs and pretend…
Chapter 53
Dorothy tells Tiktok their first task is to find a way to escape the rocks, since the Wheelers below threaten to kill them. Tiktok begins to reassure her that there is no reason…
Chapter 54
The little procession walks slowly down the path between the rocks, Tiktok first, Dorothy following, and Billina trotting last. At the foot of the path Tiktok easily tosses aside…
Chapter 55
Nanda brings Dorothy bread and water for supper, and Dorothy sleeps on a hard stone couch with a single pillow and silken coverlet in her tower prison. In the morning she leans…
Chapter 56
The freed Dorothy first rushes into the embrace of the Scarecrow, whose painted face beams with delight, then is embraced gently by the Tin Woodman, who fears his tin arms might…
Chapter 57
The Tin Woodman addresses the conference first, recounting that word reached their Ruler, Ozma of Oz, that the wife and ten children (five boys and five girls) of former King of…
Chapter 58
The road leads through pretty farm country and past an inviting picnic grove, but the procession advances steadily until Billina cries out commandingly to wait. Ozma stops her…
Chapter 59
As they draw near the mountain that blocks their path and marks the furthermost edge of the Kingdom of Ev, the way grows dark and gloomy because the high peaks shut out the…
Chapter 60
Hearing the Nome King's condition, Ozma becomes silent and thoughtful, and her friends look at her uneasily. Dorothy urges her not to do it, warning that a wrong guess will…

Chapters 61–70

Chapter 61
The King returns to his throne, relights his pipe, and the rest of the band settles for another long wait, greatly disheartened by the failure of their girl Ruler and the…
Chapter 62
Dorothy, unable to find Billina, decides they must have left her in the throne room and runs down the hall to the entrance door, but it is fast closed and locked on the other…
Chapter 63
While Dorothy is inside the Nome King's enchanted palace making guesses, the Scarecrow remains in the throne room with the Nome King. The King gloats that the machine man Tiktok…
Chapter 64
The yellow hen Billina walks importantly through the splendid rooms of the Nome King's underground palace. Billina alone shares the Nome King's secret and knows how to distinguish…
Chapter 65
After Billina enters the palace, Dorothy and Prince Evring wait while the Nome King smokes his long pipe contentedly. The bell above the throne, which rings whenever an…
Chapter 66
Dorothy obeys Billina, runs behind the blinded Nome King, unbuckles his jeweled belt, and carries it to her place beside the Tiger and Lion, fastening it around her own waist. The…
Chapter 67
The rock-colored Nomes on the mountainside are now silent and respectful, no longer taunting the adventurers with impudent laughter, having nothing to laugh at since their King's…
Chapter 68
Dorothy decides to accept Ozma's invitation to return with her to the Land of Oz, reasoning she has no greater chance of getting home from Ev than from Oz, and wishing to revisit…
Chapter 69
Dorothy passes several happy weeks in the Land of Oz as Ozma's guest, forming new acquaintances and renewing old ones. One day, sitting in Ozma's private room, she notices a…
Chapter 70
The train from 'Frisco arrives very late at Hugson's Siding, reaching the open shed station at five o'clock in the gray dawn instead of midnight. A little girl carrying a wicker…

Chapters 71–80

Chapter 71
When Dorothy recovers her senses she and Zeb are still falling, but more slowly, because the buggy top catches the air like a parachute and holds them back so they float downward…
Chapter 72
Zeb drives the horse and buggy through the large doorway of the glass palace into a lofty, beautiful hall, and the glass-city people follow to form a circle around the room,…
Chapter 73
After the Wizard cleans and disassembles his sword back into its leathern case, the man with the star orders his people to carry the two halves of the Sorcerer to the public…
Chapter 74
As the cold vegetable Prince turns away to leave the enclosure, the sad children prepare to follow, but the Wizard touches Dorothy's shoulder and whispers for them to wait. He…
Chapter 75
When the Wizard awakes the six colored suns still shine as they had since his arrival; rested, he finds Zeb yawning on his bench and asks him to fetch from the balloon's…
Chapter 76
The Mangaboos drive Jim the horse, the kitten Eureka, and the piglets into a yawning cave, called the Black Pit, located half way up a rugged, towering mountain of deep green…
Chapter 77
Passing through the glass mountain brings the travelers to a delightful valley shaped like the hollow of a great cup, bounded by another rugged mountain on the far side and soft…
Chapter 78
The strangers sit willingly at the table, each place holding a fragrant dama-fruit whose sweet perfume tempts them, but Dorothy and her companions resist and satisfy their hunger…
Chapter 79
The mountain before them is cone-shaped and so tall its point is lost in the clouds. Directly facing where Jim stopped is an arched opening leading to a broad stairway cut in the…
Chapter 80
Another climb brings the adventurers to a third landing with a rift showing only thick rolling clouds. Resting, the Wizard draws out the nine tiny piglets and finds them plainly…

Chapters 81–90

Chapter 81
The enemy hesitates to renew the attack, and a few who advance are driven back by another shot from the Wizard's revolver. Zeb thinks they have the Gargoyles on the run, but the…
Chapter 82
With their eight wings the friends maintain their head start, flying as fast as the pursuing Gargoyles all the way to the great rock; when Jim alights at the mouth of the cavern…
Chapter 83
The chosen way leads straight upward in a gentle incline, and the wanderers make such good progress they grow hopeful of seeing sunshine, until they come upon a huge rock that…
Chapter 84
Many servants in handsome uniforms welcome the new arrivals, and when the Wizard steps out of the buggy a pretty green-gowned girl cries that it is Oz the Wonderful Wizard come…
Chapter 85
Jim the Cab-horse finds himself in a large stately room with a green marble floor and carved marble wainscoting, which he accepts as a mere detail; at his command the attendants…
Chapter 86
After breakfast in the Emerald City, Princess Ozma announces a holiday throughout the city in honor of her visitors, centered on the return of the Wizard, a long-time favorite.…
Chapter 87
Several days of festivity follow the holiday, during which old friends reunite and enjoy the country's amusements. Ozma is happy to have Dorothy beside her because there are few…
Chapter 88
At three o'clock the Throne Room is crowded for the trial. Ozma, in splendid robes of state with jeweled sceptre and coronet, sits on the emerald throne, backed by her…
Chapter 89
Eureka finds herself in disgrace despite not having eaten the piglet, because the folks of Oz know she tried to commit the crime and only an accident prevented her; even the…
Chapter 90
A shaggy man approaches Dorothy at the farm and asks the road to Butterfield. Dorothy, noting his pleasant twinkling eye despite his shaggy appearance, begins giving complicated…

Chapters 91–100

Chapter 91
The seventh road proves good, curving through green meadows and fields of daisies and buttercups past groups of shady trees, with no houses and no living creatures for some…
Chapter 92
Button-Bright willingly takes the shaggy man's hand because of the Love Magnet, which caused the boy to love him at once, and the party sets off with Dorothy on one side and Toto…
Chapter 93
King Dox studies Button-Bright with amusement while the boy stares back, neither fox nor child having encountered the other's like; Button-Bright, never told about fairies, is…
Chapter 94
Toto, now allowed to run free, is glad to bark at birds and chase butterflies as the party travels through charming country of wild-flower fields and leafy groves that contain no…
Chapter 95
At noon the travelers open the Fox-King's luncheon basket, finding roasted turkey with cranberry sauce and bread and butter; the shaggy man cuts up the turkey with his…
Chapter 96
The travelers find the houses of Dunkiton all low, square, brick, and whitewashed inside and out, placed haphazardly rather than in regular streets, which puzzles strangers. The…
Chapter 97
About mid-morning the travelers ascend a long hill that suddenly drops into a pretty valley where they spot a small house by the roadside—the first house they have seen—and hasten…
Chapter 98
The country grows less pretty as a rocky plain covered with barren hills appears before the travelers, who near some low mountains as the once-smooth road turns rough and uneven.…
Chapter 99
The shaggy man, uninjured after being struck on the breast and left shoulder by two thrown Scoodler heads, rises and urges his companions forward. The Scoodlers respond by hurling…
Chapter 100
As the travelers trudge along rough terrain, all are hungry and thirsty, having eaten only apples since breakfast, so their steps lag. Crossing a barren hill, they see a line of…