The Oz Series
Chapter 2
Part of the Dorothy's Journey to the Wizard and Back to Kansas arc.
What happens
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 moving and bright sunshine floods the room. Dorothy runs to the door, opens it, and cries out in amazement at a country of marvelous beauty: patches of greensward, stately trees bearing rich fruits, banks of gorgeous flowers, birds with brilliant plumage, and a small sparkling brook. The cyclone had set the house down gently in this land.
A group of small people approach, no taller than Dorothy though older-looking: three men and one woman, oddly dressed in round pointed hats with tinkling bells, the men in blue and the little woman in a white gown sprinkled with glistening stars. The men wear blue boots; two have beards. The little old woman, whose face is wrinkled and hair nearly white, bows low and welcomes Dorothy as a "most noble Sorceress" to the land of the Munchkins, thanking her for killing the Wicked Witch of the East and freeing the Munchkins from bondage. Dorothy protests that she has killed nothing, but the woman points to two feet shod in silver shoes sticking out from under the corner of the house, which crushed the Witch. The woman identifies herself as the Witch of the North, a good witch who lives in the land of the North and came at the Munchkins' summons.
The Witch of the North explains that there were only four witches in the Land of Oz: those of the North and South are good, while those of the East and West were wicked; with the Witch of the East dead, only the Wicked Witch of the West remains. She explains that the Land of Oz, cut off from the rest of the world, has never been civilized, so witches and wizards still dwell there, unlike in civilized countries such as Dorothy's Kansas. She names Oz himself as the Great Wizard, more powerful than all the witches together, who lives in the City of Emeralds.
The Munchkins shout and point to the corner where the dead Witch lay; her feet have dried up and disappeared in the sun, leaving only the silver shoes. The Witch of the North gives the shoes to Dorothy, and a Munchkin notes there is some unknown charm connected with them. Dorothy places the shoes on the table and asks for help returning to her aunt and uncle. The Munchkins and Witch shake their heads: a great deadly desert surrounds Oz on all sides. The Witch of the North balances her cap on her nose and counts "One, two, three"; the cap becomes a slate reading "LET DOROTHY GO TO THE CITY OF EMERALDS."
The Witch tells Dorothy she must walk to the City of Emeralds in the center of the country, ruled by Oz, following the road paved with yellow brick, and ask Oz for help. Unable to accompany her, the Witch gives Dorothy a protective kiss on the forehead, leaving a round shining mark, and states no one will dare injure a person kissed by the Witch of the North. The three Munchkins bow and depart through the trees. The Witch whirls around on her left heel three times and disappears, surprising Toto but not Dorothy, who expected it.
Who is in play
- Dorothy
- Witch of the North
- Aunt Em
- City of Emeralds
- Kansas
- Land of Oz
- Munchkins
- Oz
- Silver Shoes
- Toto
- Uncle Henry
- Wicked Witch of the East
- Land of the Munchkins
- road of yellow brick
- Wicked Witch of the West
- Winkies