Living being in The Oz Series
Toto
Also known as Little Toto, the brave little dog, Dorothy's pet dog.
Dorothy's little black dog with long silky hair and small twinkling black eyes; playful and lively, he is the one bright, non-gray thing on the farm and is carried off in the house with Dorothy during the cyclone.
Appears in 33 chapters, first in chapter 1, last in chapter 100.
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 the story establishes
| Affiliation | Dorothy's companion; part of the Kansas farm household (as of ch. 1) |
| Appearance | A little black dog with long silky hair, small twinkling black eyes, and a funny, wee nose (as of ch. 1) |
| Being nature | An ordinary (non-speaking) little dog |
| Body conditions | An ordinary flesh-and-blood 'meat dog', small in size, neither made of tin nor stuffed. |
| Conflict | Frightened by the cyclone, he panics, nearly falls through the open trap door, and must be pulled back to safety (as of ch. 1) |
| Current goal | To stay close by Dorothy on the journey, sharing her supper, lying down beside her to sleep at the farmhouse, and following the party through the gate into the Emerald City. (as of ch. 10) |
| Dialogue style | Non-verbal; he communicates only through barking, not speech (as of ch. 1) |
| Equipment | Carries no equipment; an ordinary little farm dog with no gear of his own. (as of ch. 90) |
| Gender identity | man (as of ch. 23) |
| Green spectacles count | 1 |
| Health condition | Well and lively again; nearly starved from days of travel on fruit, he eats a little of everything at the farmhouse and is glad to get a good supper again. (as of ch. 10) |
| Is alive | yes (as of ch. 1) |
| Motive | To play and stay close to Dorothy; during the storm, to flee the frightening cyclone (as of ch. 1) |
| Personality | Playful, merry, and lively; skittish and agitated when frightened by the storm (as of ch. 1) |
| Quirks | Nimbly jumps across the holes in the broken road. (as of ch. 4) |
| Referential profile | masculine (as of ch. 1) |
| Sex profile | male (as of ch. 14) |
| Skills | Sees very well in the dark (guiding through the black forest night when Dorothy cannot see at all), nimbly jumps the holes in the broken road, and is a practiced mouse-chaser from his Kansas days. (as of ch. 4) |
| Social status | Dorothy's pet dog, a small companion animal traveling with the party. (as of ch. 6) |
| Special capabilities | Can see well in the dark, as some dogs do. |
| Status | Free to roam again, running loose beside the group, barking at birds and chasing butterflies as they travel the open road. (as of ch. 94) |
Relationships
- member of → road_to_oz_traveling_party ch. 90Toto, carried from the farm in the Shaggy Man's pocket and then unable to lead Dorothy home, follows along as the third member of the traveling band down the seventh road.
- ally of · Cowardly Lion ch. 6Toto, wary of the Lion who nearly crushed him, gradually warms to the new comrade until the two grow to be good friends.
- provides service → Winged Monkeys ch. 14One little Monkey seizes Toto and flies after the others to the Emerald City, though the dog tries hard to bite him.
- located in → Kansas ch. 23Toto lives on the Kansas farm as Dorothy's dog before being carried off by the cyclone.
- injures ← poppy field (ended) ch. 8The poppies' scent overcomes Toto, dropping him asleep beside Dorothy in a near-fatal enchanted slumber.
- expresses love ← Dorothy (ended) ch. 1Dorothy dearly loves Toto, who is her chief source of joy and playmate on the gray farm.
- acquires resource → green spectacles (ended) ch. 10At the Emerald City gate the Guardian of the Gates fits Toto with a pair of green-glassed spectacles and locks them on with his key, as Oz's decree requires of everyone entering the City.
- discovers → Oz (ended) ch. 15Startled by the Lion's roar, Toto jumps and tips over the corner screen, accidentally exposing the little old man Oz had been hiding behind and triggering the unmasking.
- threatens ← Cowardly Lion (ended) ch. 6When Toto runs barking at him, the Lion opens his great jaws to bite the little dog, nearly crushing him before Dorothy intervenes.
- rescues ← Cowardly Lion (ended) ch. 8As the Lion swims the raft to shore, he also saves Toto, aboard in Dorothy's arms, from the runaway current.
- rescues ← Dorothy (ended) ch. 1When Toto falls through the open trap door during the cyclone, Dorothy catches him by the ear and drags him back into the room to safety.
- protects ← Dorothy (ended) ch. 6Fearing Toto will be killed, Dorothy heedlessly rushes forward and slaps the Lion's nose to drive him off her dog.
- includes ← Dorothy's Traveling Party (ended) ch. 6–23Toto, Dorothy's dog, travels with the company and is defended by its members.
- rescues ← Scarecrow (ended) ch. 8The Scarecrow helps carry the sleeping Toto, set in Dorothy's lap, out of the deadly poppy field to safety.
- fears → Scoodlers (ended) ch. 98Toto, who had barked furiously at the strange creatures at first, grows afraid once they reveal themselves as Scoodlers, stops barking, crouches between Dorothy's feet, and whines dismally.
- rescues ← Tin Woodman (ended) ch. 8The Tin Woodman helps carry the sleeping Toto out of the poppy field along with Dorothy, set in her lap.
- located in → City of Emeralds (ended) ch. 10–12Toto, fitted with his own locked spectacles, enters the Emerald City with the rest of the party as the Guardian leads them through the gate into its streets.
- fears → Cowardly Lion (ended) ch. 6Toto distrusts the new comrade at first, unable to forget how nearly he had been crushed between the Lion's great jaws.
- protects ← Dorothy (ended) ch. 1After saving Toto, Dorothy closes the trap door to protect him from any further accidents during the storm.
- communicates with ← Dorothy (ended) ch. 90Dorothy speaks to Toto, asking him to lead them home and telling him to find the way himself, while Toto answers with wagging, barking, and questioning looks.
- wields → green spectacles (ended) ch. 10–12Even little Toto is fitted with green spectacles, which are locked fast on him with the Guardian's key before entering the Emerald City.
- steals → Scoodlers (ended) ch. 99When a Scoodler's thrown head strikes him, Toto grabs it by the ear and runs off with it, trying to roll it down the hill before the other Scoodlers pelt him into dropping it.
- expresses hatred → the fox-captain (ended) ch. 92Immune to the Love Magnet's effect, Toto barks angrily at the fox-captain and tries to bite his leg.
- injures → the Shaggy Man (ended) ch. 90Toto bites the shaggy man's finger inside his coat pocket, a minor nip that makes him jerk his hand out and cry 'Oh!' (also earlier making a dive for his leg).
- uses ← the Shaggy Man (ended) ch. 90The shaggy man stuffs Toto into his coat pocket along with the apples, claiming he brought the dog to guard the apples so no one would steal them.
- rescues ← Tin Woodman (ended) ch. 19When a branch catches Toto and shakes him until he howls, the Tin Woodman promptly chops off the branch and sets the little dog free.
- threatens → Allegro da Capo (ended) ch. 97Toto, disliking the fat musicker, snaps and grabs at his chubby leg before Dorothy pulls him away.
- threatens → Field Mice (ended) ch. 9Waking to find mice all around, Toto barks with delight and leaps into the middle of them to chase them, and would have bitten them but for the Woodman's grip.
- located in → the forest of the beasts (ended) ch. 21–22Toto enters the great old forest with the party and lies down there to sleep, whimpering at the distant growl of the beasts.
- located in → the Land of the South (ended) ch. 22–23Toto is flown with the party into the Quadling country, where the farmer's wife gives him a bowl of milk.
- injures → Wicked Witch of the West (ended) ch. 12When the Witch strikes Toto with her umbrella, the brave little dog flies at her and bites her leg; the Witch does not bleed, for she was so wicked that the blood in her had dried up many years before. (minor bite; no bleeding)
- gives ← Winkies (ended) ch. 13The Winkies give Toto a golden collar as a parting gift.
- threatens ← the fighting trees (ended) ch. 19As the party runs under the tree, a small branch catches Toto and shakes him until he howls.
From the text
It was Toto that made Dorothy laugh, and saved her from growing as gray as her other surroundings.Chapter 1
Toto was not gray; he was a little black dog, with long silky hair and small black eyes that twinkled merrily on either side of his funny, wee nose.Chapter 1
Toto had always loved to chase mice when he lived in Kansas, and he saw no harm in it.Chapter 9
Toto only wagged his tail; for, strange to say, he could not speak.Chapter 10
A little black dog with bright brown eyes dashed out of the farm-house and ran madly toward the shaggy man.Chapter 90
Toto had been looking with great curiosity in the hole which the boy was digging, and growing more and more excited every minute, perhaps thinking that Button-Bright was after some wild animal. The little dog began barking loudly and jumped into the hole himself, where he began to dig with his tiny paws, making the earth fly in all directions.Chapter 91