The Wizard Of Oz 13 & 14: The Rescue

You've seen the movie: now listen to the book and enjoy all its similarities and differences! It is the source material, not just for The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, but for all the contemporary movies in the Wicked series.

In the latest chapter of L Frank Baum's beloved story, once Dorothy, Toto, and the Lion have escaped from the Wicked Witch's castle, they must find their old friends, the Tin Woodman and the Scarecrow. They ask some of their new friends to help mend their broken bodies.

L Frank Baum openly admitted to being influenced by Lewis Carroll, the author of Alice in Wonderland and Alice through the Looking Glass. If you're enjoying The Wizard of Oz, you may enjoy these stories too, both narrated by me on Insight Timer.

Both are available, complete, on playlists. Download the Wizard of Oz playlist too, and listen to the tracks seamlessly. Tracks are added as they are published.

For a different sort of journey, please also check out Ted the Shed on Free Tracks.

Transcript

Hello,

It's Mandy here.

Welcome back to The World of the Wizard of Oz by L.

Frank Baum.

Thanks ever so much for joining me tonight.

I'm going to read chapters 13 and 14 tonight.

When Baum lived in Aberdeen,

South Dakota,

He was secretary of its Equal Suffrage Club and the paper he edited tried to convince the populace to vote for women's suffrage.

Some of Baum's contacts with suffragists of his day seem to have inspired much of the book The Marvelous Land of Oz.

In this story,

General Ginger leads the girls and women of Oz in a revolt armed with knitting needles.

They succeed and make the men do the household chores.

Sounds good.

Anyway,

Before we go ahead,

Please feel free to make yourself really comfortable.

Relax your hands.

Soften your shoulders.

And release any tension in your jaw.

That's really good.

Okay,

So if you're ready,

I shall begin.

Chapter 13 The Rescue The cowardly lion was much pleased to hear that the wicked witch had been melted by a bucket of water and Dorothy at once unlocked the gate of his prison and set him free.

They went in together to the castle where Dorothy's first act was to call all the Winkies together and tell them they were no longer slaves.

There was great rejoicing among the yellow Winkies,

For they had been made to work hard during many years for the wicked witch,

Who had always treated them with great cruelty.

They kept this day as a holiday,

Then and ever after,

And spent the time feasting and dancing.

If our friends the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman were only with us,

Said the lion,

I should be quite happy.

Don't you suppose we could rescue them?

Asked the girl anxiously.

We can try,

Answered the lion.

So they called the yellow Winkies and asked them if they would help rescue their friends,

And the Winkies said they would be delighted to do all in their power for Dorothy,

Who had set them free from bondage.

So she chose a number of the Winkies who looked as if they knew the most,

And they all started away.

They travelled that day and part of the next until they came to the rocky plain where the Tin Woodman lay,

All battered and bent.

His axe was near him,

But the blade was rusted and the handle broken off short.

The Winkies lifted him tenderly in their arms and carried him back to the yellow castle again,

Dorothy shedding a few tears by the way at the sad plight of her old friend and the lion looking sober and sorry.

When they reached the castle,

Dorothy said to the Winkies,

Are any of your people Tinsmiths?

Oh yes,

Some of them are very good Tinsmiths,

They told her.

Then bring them to me,

She said.

And when the Tinsmiths came,

Bringing with them all their tools in baskets,

She inquired,

Can you straighten out those dents in the Tin Woodman and bend him back into shape again and solder him together where he is broken?

The Tinsmiths looked the Woodman over carefully and they answered they thought they could mend him so he would be as good as ever.

So they sat to work in one of the big yellow rooms of the castle and worked for three days and four nights,

Hammering and twisting and bending and soldering and polishing and pounding at the legs and body and head of the Tin Woodman until at last he was straightened out into his old form and his joints worked as well as ever.

To be sure there were several patches on him,

But the Tinsmiths did a good job and as the Woodman was not a vain man,

He didn't mind the patches at all.

When at last he walked into Dorothy's room and thanked her for rescuing him,

He was so pleased that he wept tears of joy and Dorothy had to wipe every tear carefully from his face with her apron so his joints would not be rusted.

At the same time her own tears fell thick and fast at the joy of meeting her old friend again and those tears did not need to be wiped away.

As for the lion,

He wiped his eyes so often with the tip of his tail that it became quite wet and he was obliged to go out into the courtyard and hold it in the sun till it dried.

If we only had the Scarecrow with us again,

Said the Tin Woodman when Dorothy had finished telling him everything that had happened,

I should be quite happy.

We must try to find him,

Said the girl.

So she called the Winkies to help her and they walked all that day and part of the next until they came to the tall tree in the branches of which the winged monkeys had tossed the Scarecrow's clothes.

It was a very tall tree and the trunk was so smooth that no one could climb it but the Woodman said at once,

I'll chop it down and then we can get the Scarecrow's clothes.

Now,

While the Tinsmiths had been at work mending the Woodman himself,

Another of the Winkies,

Who was a goldsmith,

Had made an axe handle of solid gold and fitted it to the Woodman's axe instead of the old broken handle.

Others polished the blade until all the rust was removed and it glistened like burnished silver.

As soon as he had spoken,

The Tin Woodman began to chop and in a short time the tree fell over with a crash when the Scarecrow's clothes fell out of the branches and rolled off on the ground.

Dorothy picked them up and had the Winkies carry them back to the castle where they were stuffed with nice clean straw and behold,

Here was the Scarecrow as good as ever thanking them over and over again for saving him.

Now they were reunited,

Dorothy and her friends spent a few happy days at the Yellow Castle where they found everything they needed to make them comfortable.

But one day the girl thought of Aunt Em and said we must go back to Oz and claim his promise.

Yes,

Said the Woodman,

At last I shall get my heart and I shall get my brains,

Added the Scarecrow joyfully and I shall get my courage,

Said the Lion thoughtfully.

And I shall get back to Kansas,

Cried Dorothy,

Clapping her hands.

Oh,

Let's start for the Emerald City tomorrow.

This they decided to do.

The next day they called the Winkies together and bade them goodbye.

The Winkies were sorry to have them go and they had grown so fond of the Tin Woodman they begged him to stay and rule over them and the Yellow Land of the West.

But finding they were determined to go the Winkies gave Toto and the Lion each a golden collar and to Dorothy they presented a beautiful bracelet studded with diamonds and to the Scarecrow they gave a gold-headed walking stick to keep him from stumbling and to the Tin Woodman they offered a silver oil can inlaid with gold and set with precious jewels.

Every one of the travellers made the Winkies a pretty speech in return and all shook hands with them until their arms ached.

Dorothy went to the Witch's cupboard to fill her basket with food for the journey and there she saw the golden cap.

She tried it on her own head and found that it fitted her exactly.

She didn't know anything about the charm of the golden cap but she saw it was pretty so she made up her mind to wear it and carry her sun bonnet in the basket.

Then,

Being prepared for the journey they all started for the Emerald City and the Winkies gave them three cheers and many good wishes to carry with them.

You will remember that there was no road between the Castle of the Wicked Witch and the Emerald City.

It was hard to find their way back through the big fields of buttercups and bright daisies.

They knew,

Of course,

That they must go straight east towards the rising sun and they started off the right way but at noon,

When the sun was over their heads they didn't know which was east and which was west and they got lost in the great fields.

They kept walking,

However,

And at night the moon came out and shone brightly so they lay down among the sweet-smelling scarlet flowers and slept soundly until morning all but the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman.

The next morning the sun was behind a cloud but they started on as if they were quite sure which way they were going.

If we walk far enough,

Said Dorothy,

We shall sometime come to some place,

I am sure.

But day by day passed away and they still saw nothing before them but the scarlet fields.

The Scarecrow began to grumble a bit.

We have surely lost our way,

He said.

Dorothy lost heart.

She sat down on the grass and looked at her companions and they sat down and looked at her and Toto found for the first time in his life he was too tired to chase a butterfly that flew past his head.

Suppose we call the field mice,

Suggested Dorothy.

They could probably tell us the way to the Emerald City.

To be sure they could,

Cried the Scarecrow.

Why didn't we think of that before?

Dorothy blew the little whistle she'd carried about her neck since the Queen of the Mice had given it to her.

In a few minutes they heard the pattering of tiny feet and the small grey mice came running up.

Among them was the Queen herself who asked in her squeaky little voice What can I do for my friends?

We have lost our way,

Said Dorothy.

Can you tell us where the Emerald City is?

Certainly,

Answered the Queen,

But it is a great way off for you have had it at your backs all the time.

Then she noticed Dorothy's golden cap and said Why don't you use the charm of the cap and call the winged monkeys to you?

They will carry you to the City of Oz in less than an hour.

I didn't know there was a charm,

Answered Dorothy.

What is it?

It is written inside the golden cap,

Replied the Queen of the Mice but if you are going to call the winged monkeys we must run away for they are full of mischief and think it great fun to plague us.

Won't they hurt me?

Asked the girl anxiously.

Oh no!

They must obey the wearer of the cap.

Goodbye!

And she scampered out of sight with all the mice hurrying after her.

Dorothy looked inside the golden cap and saw some words written on the lining.

These,

She thought,

Must be the charm so she read them carefully and put the cap on her head.

Epe pepe kake,

She said,

Standing on her left foot.

What did you say?

Asked the scarecrow.

Hilo holo hello,

Dorothy went on standing this time on her right foot.

Hello,

Replied the tin woodman calmly.

Zizi zizi zik,

Said Dorothy now standing on both feet.

This ended the saying of the charm and they heard a great chattering and flapping of wings as the band of winged monkeys flew up to them.

The King bowed low before Dorothy and asked,

What is your command?

We wish to go to the Emerald City,

Said the child and we have lost our way.

We will carry you,

Replied the King and no sooner had he spoken than two of the monkeys caught Dorothy in their arms and flew away with her.

Others took the scarecrow and the woodman and the lion and one little monkey seized Toto and flew after them although the dog tried hard to bite him.

The scarecrow and the tin woodman were rather frightened at first for they remembered how badly the winged monkeys had treated them before but they saw no harm was intended so they rode through the air quite cheerfully and had a fine time looking at the pretty gardens and woods far below them.

Dorothy found herself between two of the biggest monkeys one of them the King himself.

They'd made a chair of their hands and were careful not to hurt her.

Why do you have to obey the charm of the golden cap?

She asked.

That is a long story,

Answered the King but as we have a long journey before us I will pass the time by telling you about it.

Once we were a free people living happily in the great forest flying from tree to tree eating nuts and fruit doing just as we pleased without calling anybody master.

Perhaps some of us were rather too full of mischief flying down to pull the tails of animals that had no wings chasing birds and throwing nuts at the people who walked in the forest but we enjoyed every minute of our day.

This was many years ago long before Oz came out of the clouds to rule over this land.

There lived here then,

Up the north a beautiful princess who was a powerful sorceress.

All her magic was used to help people she was never known to hurt anyone who was good.

Her name was Gaelette and she lived in a handsome palace built from great rocks of ruby.

Everyone loved her but her greatest sorrow was that she could find no one to love in return since all the men were much too stupid and ugly.

At last,

However,

She found a boy he was handsome and manly and wise beyond his years.

Gaelette made up her mind when he grew to be a man she would make him her husband.

So she took him to her ruby palace and used all her magic powers to make him as strong and good and lovely as any woman could wish.

When he grew to manhood Quelala,

As he was called was said to be the best and wisest man in all the land.

Gaelette loved him dearly and hastened to make everything ready for the wedding.

My grandfather was at that time the king of the winged monkeys which lived in the forest near Gaelette's palace and the old fellow loved a joke better than a good dinner.

One day,

Just before the wedding he was flying out with his band when he saw Quelala walking beside the river.

Quelala was dressed in a rich costume of pink silk and purple velvet and my grandfather thought he would see what he could do.

At his word the band flew down and seized Quelala carried him in their arms until they were over the middle of the river and then dropped him into the water.

Swim out my fine fellow cried my grandfather and see if the water has spoiled your clothes.

Quelala was much too wise not to swim and he was not in the least spoiled by his good fortune.

He laughed and swam into shore.

But when Gaelette came running out to him she was angry and she knew,

Of course,

Who did it.

She had the winged monkeys brought before her she said at first that their wings should be tied and they should be treated as they had treated Quelala and dropped into the river.

But my grandfather pleaded hard for he knew the monkeys would drown in the river with their wings tied.

Quelala said a kind word for them also so Gaelette finally spared them on condition that the winged monkeys should ever after do three times the bidding of the owner of the golden cap.

This cap had been made for a wedding present to Quelala and it is said to have cost the princess half her kingdom.

Of course,

My grandfather and all the other monkeys at once agreed to that condition and that's how it happens we are three times the slaves of the owner of the golden cap whoever they may be.

And what became of them asked Dorothy greatly interested in the story.

Quelala being the first owner of the golden cap replied the monkey he was the first to lay his wishes upon us.

As his bride couldn't bear the sight of us he called us all to him in the forest after he had married her and ordered us always to keep where she could never again set eyes on a winged monkey which we were glad to do because we were all afraid of her.

This was all we ever had to do until the golden cap fell into the hands of the wicked witch of the west.

She made us enslave the Winkies and afterwards drive Oz himself out of the land of the west.

But now the golden cap is yours and three times you have the right to lay your wishes upon us.

As the monkey king finished his story Dorothy looked down and saw the green shining walls of the emerald city before them.

She wondered at the rapid flight of the monkeys the strange creatures set the travellers down carefully before the gate.

The king bowed low to Dorothy and then flew swiftly away followed by all his band.

That was a good ride said the girl.

Yes and a quick way out of our troubles replied the lion.

How lucky it was that you brought away that wonderful cap.

To be continued.

Reviews

I’m so intrigued by all the feminist themes as well as the motif of freedom vs enslavement. So many layers to this story. Thanks Mandy 🙏🏻

One of my fav chapters in this series, thank you Mandy 🙏❤️ I especially enjoy the pre-reading snippets about the authors, in this case hearing about the revolt with knitting needles! Yesss!