Bedtime Story: The Wizard Of Oz Pt. 8

Please enjoy the next instalment of The Wizard of Oz, written by L. Frank Baum.

Let's continue our journey with Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion.

You can find all parts of this wonderful story in my Wizard of Oz playlist on my profile.

Read in a tone of voice perfect for bedtime, so get comfortable in your bed, lie back and enjoy the adventures of Dorothy and friends.

Transcript

Good evening beautiful souls and welcome to tonight's reading of The Wizard of Oz.

So taking a moment now to make yourself comfortable in your bed,

Maybe stretching the arms above your head and stretching out through the legs,

Pointing and flexing the toes,

Stretching out the muscles,

Signaling to the body that it's time to rest.

Maybe you take a big yawn as you sink deeper and deeper into your mattress,

Becoming aware of your body laid in your bed,

The heaviness or the lightness,

Noticing where the body is in contact with the mattress and the blanket and the pillow under your head and allowing your breath to become slower and when you are settled we will continue our journey with Dorothy and friends.

The Magic Art of the Great Hombug.

Next morning the Scarecrow said to his friends,

Congratulate me I am going to Oz to get my brains at last.

When I return I shall be as other men are.

I have always liked you as you were,

Said Dorothy simply.

It is kind of you to like a scarecrow Dorothy,

He replied,

But surely you will think more of me when you hear the splendid thoughts my new brain is going to turn out.

Then he said goodbye to them all in a cheerful voice and went to the throne room where he rapped upon the door.

Come in,

Said Oz.

The scarecrow went in and found the little man sitting down by the window engaged in deep thought.

I have come for my brains,

Remarked the scarecrow,

A little uneasily.

Oh yes,

Sit down in that chair please,

Replied Oz.

You must excuse me for taking your head off but I shall have to do it in order to put your brains in their proper place.

That's all right,

Said the scarecrow,

You are quite welcome to take my head off as long as it will be a better one when you put it on again.

So the wizard unfastened his head and emptied out the straw.

Then he entered the back room and took up a measure of bran which he mixed with a great many pins and needles.

Having shaken them together thoroughly,

He filled the top of the scarecrow's head with the mixture and stuffed the rest of the space with straw to hold it in place.

When he had fastened the scarecrow's head on his body again,

He said to him,

Hereafter you will be a great man for I have given you a lot of bran new brains.

The scarecrow was both pleased and proud at the fulfillment of his greatest wish and having thanked Oz warmly,

He went back to his friends.

Dorothy looked at him curiously.

His head was quite bulged out at the top with his brains.

How do you feel,

She asked.

I feel wise indeed,

He answered earnestly.

When I get used to my brains,

I shall know everything.

Why are those needles and pins sticking out of your head,

Asked the tin woodman.

That is proof that he is sharp,

Remarked the lion.

Well,

I must go to Oz and get my heart,

Said the woodman.

So he walked to the throne room and knocked at the door.

Come in,

Called Oz.

And the woodman entered and said,

I have come for my heart.

Very well,

Answered the little man.

But I shall have to cut a hole in your breast so I can put your heart in the right place.

I hope it won't hurt you.

Oh,

No,

Answered the woodman.

I shall not feel it at all.

So,

Oz brought a pair of tinsmith shears and cut a small square hole in the left side of the tin woodman's breast.

Then,

Going to a chest of drawers,

He took out a pretty heart made entirely of silk and stuffed with sawdust.

Isn't it a beauty,

He asked.

It is indeed,

Replied the woodman,

Who was greatly pleased.

But is it a kind heart?

Oh,

Very,

Answered Oz.

He put the heart in the woodman's breast and then replaced the square of tin,

Soldering it neatly together where it had been cut.

There,

He said,

Now you have a heart that any man might be proud of.

I'm sorry I had to put a patch on your breast,

But it really couldn't be helped.

Never mind the patch,

Exclaimed the happy woodman.

I am very grateful to you and I shall never forget your kindness.

Don't speak of it,

Replied Oz.

Then the tin woodman went back to his friends who wished him every joy on account of his good fortune.

The lion now walked to the throne room and knocked at the door.

Come in,

Said Oz.

I have come for my courage,

Announced the lion,

Entering the room.

Very well,

Answered the little man.

I will get it for you.

He went to a cupboard and,

Reaching up to a high shelf,

Took down a square green bottle,

The contents of which he poured into a green gold dish,

Beautifully carved.

Placing this cowardly lion,

Who sniffed at it as if he did not like it,

The wizard said,

Drink.

What is it?

Asked the lion.

Well,

Answered Oz,

If it were inside of you,

It would be courage.

You know,

Of course,

That courage is always inside one,

So that this really cannot be called courage until you have swallowed it.

Therefore,

I advise you to drink it as soon as possible.

The lion hesitated no longer,

But drank till the dish was empty.

How do you feel now?

Asked Oz.

I feel full of courage,

Replied the lion,

Who went joyfully back to his friends to tell them of his good fortune.

Oz,

Left to himself,

Smiled to think of his success in giving the scarecrow,

And the tin woodman,

And the lion,

Exactly what they thought they wanted.

How can I help being a humbug?

He said.

When all these people make me do things that everybody knows can't be done.

It was easy to make the scarecrow,

And the lion,

And the woodman happy,

Because they imagined I could do anything.

But it will take more than imagination to carry Dorothy back to Kansas.

And I'm sure I don't know how it can be done.

How the balloon was launched.

For three days,

Dorothy heard nothing from Oz.

These were sad days for the little girl.

Although her friends were all quite happy and contented.

The scarecrow told them there were wonderful thoughts in his head.

But he would not say what they were.

Because he knew no one could understand them,

But himself.

When the tin woodman walked about,

He felt his heart rattling around in his breast.

And he told Dorothy he had discovered it to be kinder and more tender than the one he had owned when he was made of flesh.

The lion declared he was afraid of nothing on earth,

And would gladly face an army or a dozen of the fierce colliders.

Thus,

Each of the party were satisfied,

Except Dorothy,

Who longed more than ever to get back to Kansas.

On the fourth day,

To her great joy,

Oz sent for her.

And when she entered the throne room,

He greeted her pleasantly.

Sit down,

My dear.

I think I have found the way to get you out of this country.

And back to Kansas,

She asked eagerly.

Well,

I'm not sure about Kansas,

Said Oz.

For I haven't the faintest notion which way Kansas lies.

But the first thing to do is to cross the desert.

And then it should be easy to find your way home.

How can I cross the desert?

She inquired.

Well,

I'll tell you what I think,

Said the little man.

You see,

When I came to this country,

It was in a balloon.

You also came through the air,

Being carried by a cyclone.

So I believe the best way to get across the desert will be through the air.

Now,

It is quite beyond my powers to make a cyclone.

But I've been thinking the matter over.

And I believe I can make a balloon.

How?

Asked Dorothy.

A balloon,

Said Oz,

Is made of silk,

Which is coated with glue to keep the gas in.

I have plenty of silk in the palace.

So it will be no trouble to make the balloon.

But in all this country,

There is no gas to fill the balloon with,

To make it float.

If it won't float,

It will be of no use to us.

True,

Answered Oz.

But there is another way to make it float,

Which is to fill it with hot air.

Hot air isn't as good as gas.

For if the air should get cold,

The balloon would come down in the desert and we should be lost.

We,

Exclaimed the girl,

Are you going with me?

Yes,

Of course,

Replied Oz.

I am tired of being such a humbug.

If I should go out of this palace,

My people would soon discover I am not a wizard.

And then they would be vexed with me for having deceived them.

So I have to stay shut up in these rooms all day and it gets tiresome,

Dorothy.

I'd much rather go back to Kansas with you and be in a circus again.

I shall be glad to have your company,

Said Dorothy.

Thank you,

My dear,

He answered.

Now,

If you will help me sew the silk together,

We will begin to work on our balloon.

So Dorothy took a needle and thread,

And as fast as Oz cut the strips of silk into proper shape,

The girl sewed them neatly together.

First,

There was a strip of light green silk,

Then a strip of dark green,

And then a strip of emerald green.

For Oz had a fancy to make the balloon in different shades of the colour about them.

It took three days to sew all the strips together,

But when it was finished,

They had a big bag of green silk,

More than 20 feet long.

Then Oz painted it on the inside with a coat of thin glue to make it airtight,

After which he announced that the balloon was ready.

But we must have a basket to ride in,

So he sent the soldier with the green whiskers for a big clothes basket,

Which he fastened with many ropes to the bottom of the balloon.

When it was all ready,

Oz sent word to his people that he was going to make a visit to a great brother wizard who lived in the clouds.

The news spread rapidly throughout the city,

And everyone came to see the wonderful sight.

Oz ordered the balloon carried out in front of the palace,

And the people gazed upon it with much curiosity.

The tin woodman had chopped a big pile of wood,

And now he made a fire of it.

And Oz held the bottom of the balloon over the fire,

So that the hot air that arose from it would be caught in the silken bag.

Gradually,

The balloon swelled out and rose into the air,

Until finally the basket just touched the ground.

Then Oz got into the basket and said to all the people in a loud voice,

I am now going away to make a visit.

While I am gone,

The Scarecrow will rule over you.

I command you to obey him as you would me.

The balloon was by this time tugging hard at the rope that held it to the ground,

For the air within it was hot,

And this made it so much lighter in weight.

Lighter in weight than the air without that it pulled hard to rise into the sky.

Come Dorothy,

Cried the wizard,

Hurry up or the balloon will fly away.

I can't find Toto anywhere,

Replied Dorothy,

Who did not wish to leave her little dog behind.

Toto had run into the crowd to bark at a kitten,

And Dorothy at last found him.

She picked him up and ran towards the balloon.

She was within a few steps of it,

And Oz was holding out his hands to help her into the basket,

When,

Crack,

Went the ropes,

And the balloon rose into the air without her.

Come back,

She screamed.

I want to go too.

I can't come back my dear,

Called Oz from the basket.

Goodbye,

Goodbye,

Shouted everyone,

And all eyes were turned upward to where the wizard was riding in the basket,

Rising every moment farther and farther into the sky,

And that was the last day any of them ever saw Oz,

The wonderful wizard.

Though he may have reached Omaha safely and be there now,

For all we know,

But the people remembered him lovingly and said to one another,

Oz was always our friend.

When he was here,

He built for us this beautiful emerald city,

And now he is gone.

He has left the wise scarecrow to rule over us.

Still,

For many days they grieved over the loss of the wonderful wizard and would not be comforted.

Away to the south,

Dorothy wept bitterly at the passing of her hope to get home to Kansas again,

But when she thought it all over,

She was glad she had not gone up in a balloon,

And she also felt sorry at losing Oz,

And so did her companions.

The tin woodman came to her and said,

Truly I should be ungrateful if I failed to mourn for the man who gave me my lovely heart.

I should like to cry a little because Oz is gone,

If you will kindly wipe away my tears so that I shall not rust.

With pleasure,

She answered,

And brought a towel at once.

Then the tin woodman wept for several minutes,

And she watched the tears carefully and wiped them away with the towel.

When he had finished,

He thanked her kindly and oiled himself thoroughly with his jeweled oil can to guard against mishap.

The scarecrow was now the ruler of the emerald city,

And although he was not a wizard,

The people were proud of him,

For they said,

There is not another city in all the world that is ruled by a stuffed man,

And so far as they knew,

They were quite right.

The morning after the balloon had gone up with Oz,

The four travellers met in the throne room and talked matters over.

The scarecrow sat in the big throne,

And the others stood respectfully before him.

We are not so unlucky,

Said the new ruler,

For this palace and the emerald city belong to us,

And we can do just as we please.

When I remember that a short time ago,

I was up on a pole in a farmer's cornfield,

And that now I am the ruler of this beautiful city,

I am quite satisfied with my lot.

I also,

Said the tin woodman,

Am well pleased with my new heart,

And really,

That was the only thing I wished in all the world.

For my part,

I am content in knowing I am as brave as any beast that ever lived,

If not braver,

Said the lion modestly.

If Dorothy would only be contented to live in the emerald city,

Continued the scarecrow,

We might all be happy together.

But I don't want to live here,

Cried Dorothy.

I want to go to Kansas and live with Aunt Em and Uncle Henry.

But then,

What can be done?

Inquired the woodman.

The scarecrow decided to think,

And he thought so hard that the pins and needles began to stick out of his brains.

Finally,

He said,

Why not call the winged monkeys and ask them to carry you over the desert?

I never thought of that,

Said Dorothy joyfully.

It's just the thing.

I'll go at once for the golden cap.

When she brought it into the throne room,

She spoke the magic words.

And soon,

The band of winged monkeys flew in through the open window and stood beside her.

This is the second time you have called us,

Said the monkey king,

Bowing before the little girl.

What do you wish?

I want you to fly with me to Kansas,

Said Dorothy.

But the monkey king shook his head.

That cannot be done.

He said,

We belong to this country alone,

And cannot leave it.

There has never been a winged monkey in Kansas yet.

And I suppose there never will be.

For they don't belong there.

We shall be glad to serve you in any way in our power.

But we cannot cross the desert.

Goodbye.

And with another bow,

The monkey king spread his wings and flew away through the window,

Followed by all his band.

Dorothy was ready to cry with disappointment.

I have wasted the charm of the golden cap to no purpose.

For the winged monkeys cannot help me.

It is certainly too bad,

Dorothy,

Said the tender hearted woodman.

The scarecrow was thinking again,

And his head bulged out so horribly that Dorothy feared it would burst.

Let us call in the soldier with the green whiskers,

He said,

And ask his advice.

So the soldier was summoned and entered the throne room timidly.

For while Oz was alive,

He never was allowed to come farther than the door.

This little girl,

Said the scarecrow to the soldier,

Wishes to cross the desert.

How can she do so?

I cannot tell,

Answered the soldier.

For nobody has ever crossed the desert unless it is Oz himself.

Is there no one who can help me?

Asked Dorothy earnestly.

Glinda might,

He suggested.

Who is Glinda?

Inquired the scarecrow.

The witch of the south.

She is the most powerful of all the witches and rules over the quadlings.

Besides,

Her castle stands on the edge of the desert,

So she may know a way to cross it.

Glinda is a good witch,

Isn't she?

Asked the child.

The quadlings think she is good,

Said the soldier,

And she is kind to everyone.

I have heard that Glinda is a beautiful woman who knows how to keep young in spite of the many years she has lived.

How can I get to her castle?

Asked Dorothy.

The road is straight to the south,

He answered,

But it is said to be full of dangers to travellers.

There are wild beasts in the woods,

And a race of queer men who do not like strangers to cross their country.

For this reason,

None of the quadlings ever come to the Emerald City.

The soldier then left them,

And the scarecrow said,

It seems in spite of dangers that the best thing Dorothy can do is to travel to the land of the south and ask Glinda to help her.

For,

Of course,

If Dorothy stays here,

She will never get back to Kansas.

You must have been thinking again,

Remarked the tin woodman.

I have,

Said the scarecrow.

I shall go with Dorothy,

Declared the lion,

For I am tired of your city and long for the woods and the country again.

I am really a wild beast,

You know.

Besides,

Dorothy will need someone to protect her.

That is true,

Agreed the woodman.

My acts may be of service to her,

So I also will go with her to the land of the south.

When shall we start?

Asked the scarecrow.

Are you going?

They asked,

In surprise.

Certainly.

If it wasn't for Dorothy,

I should never have had brains.

She lifted me from the pole in the cornfield and brought me to the Emerald City.

So my good luck is all due to her,

And I shall never leave her until she starts back to Kansas for good and all.

Thank you,

Said Dorothy,

Gratefully.

You are all very kind to me,

But I should like to start as soon as possible.

We shall go tomorrow morning,

Returned the scarecrow.

So now,

Let us all get ready,

For it will be a long journey.

Reviews

Perfect balance of breathing life into the story without drawing attention to herself. There are many versions of this story available, and Ms. Clough’s version is far and away the best!