The Oz Series

Chapter 23

Part of the Dorothy's Journey to the Wizard and Back to Kansas arc.

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.

What happens

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, the Scarecrow pats himself into his best shape, and the Woodman polishes his tin and oils his joints. They then follow the soldier girl into a big room where Glinda sits upon a throne of rubies, beautiful and young to their eyes, with rich red hair falling in ringlets, a pure white dress, and kind blue eyes. Dorothy tells Glinda her whole story: how the cyclone brought her to Oz, how she found her companions, and their wonderful adventures, adding that her greatest wish is to return to Kansas so Aunt Em will not think something dreadful has happened and put on mourning that Uncle Henry cannot afford. Glinda kisses the girl and promises to tell her a way back to Kansas, but on the condition that Dorothy give her the Golden Cap. Dorothy willingly gives it, since it is of no further use to her, and Glinda notes she will need the Winged Monkeys' three commands.

Glinda asks each companion what he will do after Dorothy leaves. The Scarecrow will return to the Emerald City to rule as Oz made him, worrying only about crossing the Hammer-Heads' hill; Glinda promises her first command to the Winged Monkeys will carry him to the gates. The Tin Woodman wishes to return to the Country of the West to rule the Winkies, who wanted him after the Wicked Witch died; Glinda's second command will carry him safely to the land of the Winkies, and she praises him as brighter than the Scarecrow when well polished. The Lion wishes to return over the Hammer-Heads' hill to the grand old forest whose beasts made him King; Glinda's third command will carry him to his forest, after which, having used up the Cap's powers, she will give it to the King of the Monkeys so his band may be free forever. The companions thank her earnestly.

When Dorothy reminds Glinda she has not yet told her how to get to Kansas, Glinda reveals that the Silver Shoes Dorothy wears can carry her over the desert, and that had Dorothy known their power she could have returned home the very first day. The Scarecrow, Woodman, and Lion each remark they are glad Dorothy did not know, since otherwise they would never have gained their brains, heart, and courage. Glinda explains the Silver Shoes can carry Dorothy anywhere in the world in three steps, each made in the wink of an eye, by knocking the heels together three times and commanding the shoes. Dorothy tearfully embraces the Lion, the weeping Tin Woodman, and the stuffed Scarecrow in a sorrowful parting, and Glinda steps down from her ruby throne to give her a good-bye kiss. Dorothy takes Toto in her arms, clicks her heels together three times, and commands the shoes to take her home to Aunt Em. She is whirled through the air, feeling only the wind, and after three steps stops so suddenly she rolls over on the grass. She finds herself on the broad Kansas prairie before the new farmhouse Uncle Henry built after the cyclone, with Uncle Henry milking the cows and Toto running toward the barn barking. Dorothy stands up in her stocking-feet, for the Silver Shoes have fallen off during her flight and are lost forever in the desert.

Who is in play

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