Falling Asleep To The Wizard Of Oz: Chapters 1 & 2

Fall asleep as I read you the well-known classic story of the Wizard of Oz, written by L. Frank Baum. Today we read the first two chapters, where the story all begins- I won't give you any spoilers! I will invite you to get comfortable and sink into stillness, letting your mind wander along the yellow brick road. The next chapters are waiting for you tomorrow. Sweet Dreams.

Transcript

Hello and good evening you lovely being.

My name is Bella and I'm so glad that we've crossed paths.

I hope that I can get you into a nice relaxed state and hopefully off to sweet dreams.

We will be reading The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L Frank Baum.

Letting your eyelids become heavy as you sink into a comfortable position,

Making any adjustments necessary to ensure that you are perfectly at ease.

Once your eyelids are heavy,

Perhaps they close or you find a soft gaze at the tip of your nose.

We take a deep breath in together and a slow breath out.

One more deep breath in and a slow breath out.

Let's begin.

Chapter One,

The Cyclone.

Dorothy lived in the midst of the great Kansas prairies with Uncle Henry,

Who was a farmer,

And Aunt Em,

Who was the farmer's wife.

Their house was small.

For the lumber to build it had to be carried by wagon many,

Many miles.

There were four walls,

A floor,

And a roof,

Which made one room.

And this room contained a rusty looking cook stove,

A cupboard for the dishes,

A table,

Three or four chairs,

And the beds.

Uncle Henry and Aunt Em had a big bed in one corner and Dorothy a little bed in another corner.

There was no garret at all and no cellar except a small hole dug in the ground called the Cyclone Cellar where the family could go in case of one of those great whirlwinds arose,

Mighty enough to crush any building in its path.

It was reached by a trap door in the middle of the floor from which a ladder led down into the small dark hole.

When Dorothy stood in the doorway and looked around she could see nothing but the great gray prairie on every side.

Not a tree nor a house broke the broad sweep of flat country that reached to the edge of the sky in all directions.

The Sun had baked the plowed land into a gray mass with little cracks running through it.

Even the grass was not green for the Sun had burned the tops of the long blades until they were the same gray color to be seen everywhere.

Once the house had been painted but the Sun blistered the paint and the rains washed it away and now the house was dull and gray as everything else.

When Aunt Em came there to live she was a young pretty wife.

The Sun and wind had changed her too.

They had taken the sparkle from her eyes and left them a sober gray.

They had taken the red from her cheeks and they were gray also.

She was thin and gaunt and never smiled now.

When Dorothy,

Who was an orphan,

First came to her Aunt Em had been so startled by the child's laughter that she would scream and press her hand upon her heart whenever Dorothy's merry voice reached her ears and she still looked at the little girl with wonder that she could find anything to laugh at.

Uncle Henry never laughed.

He worked hard from morning till night and did not know what joy was.

He was gray also from his long beard to his rough boots and he looked stern and solemn and rarely spoke.

It was Toto that made Dorothy laugh and saved her from growing as gray as her other surroundings.

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.

Toto played all day long and Dorothy played with him and loved him dearly.

Today however they were not playing.

Uncle Henry sat upon the doorstep and looked anxiously at the sky which was even grayer than usual.

Dorothy stood in the door with Toto in her arms and looked at the sky too.

Aunt M was washing the dishes.

From the far north they heard a low wail of the wind and Uncle Henry and Dorothy could see where the long grass bowed in waves before the coming storm.

There now came a sharp whistling in the air from the south and as they turned their eyes that way they saw ripples in the grass coming from that direction also.

Suddenly Uncle Henry stood up.

There's a cyclone coming M.

He called to his wife.

I'll go look after the stock.

Then he ran toward the sheds where the cows and horses were kept.

Aunt M dropped her work and came to the door.

One glance told her of the danger close at hand.

Quick Dorothy,

She screamed,

Run for the cellar.

Toto jumped out of Dorothy's arms and hid under the bed and the girl went to get him.

Aunt M,

Badly frightened,

Threw open the trap door in the floor and climbed down the ladder into the small dark hole.

Dorothy caught Toto at last and started to follow her aunt.

When she was halfway across the room there came a great shriek from the wind and the house shook so hard that she lost her footing and sat down suddenly upon the floor.

Then a strange thing happened.

The house whirled around two or three times and rose slowly through the air.

Dorothy felt as if she were going up in a balloon.

The north and south winds met where the house stood and made it the exact center of the cyclone.

In the middle of a cyclone the air is generally still but the great pressure of the wind on every side of the house raised it up higher and higher until it was at the very top of the cyclone.

And there it remained and was carried miles and miles away as easily as you could carry a feather.

It was very dark and the wind howled horribly around her but Dorothy found she was riding quite easily.

After the first few whirls around and one other time when the house tipped badly she felt as if she were being rocked gently like a baby in a cradle back and forth back and forth.

Toto did not like it.

He ran about the room now here now there barking loudly but Dorothy sat quite still on the floor and waited to see what would happen.

Once Toto got too near the open trapdoor and fell in and at first the little girl thought she had lost him but soon she saw one of his ears sticking up through the hole for the strong pressure of the air was keeping him up so that he could not fall.

She crept to the hole caught Toto by the ear and dragged him into the room again afterward closing the trapdoor so that no more accidents could happen.

Hour after hour passed away and slowly Dorothy got over her fright but she felt quite lonely and the wind shrieked so loudly all about her that she nearly became deaf.

At first she wondered if she would be dashed to pieces when the house fell again but as the hours passed and nothing terrible happened she stopped worrying and resolved to wait calmly and see what the future would bring.

At last she crawled over the swaying floor to her bed and lay down upon it and Toto followed and lay down beside her.

In spite of the swaying of the house and the wailing of the wind Dorothy soon closed her eyes and fell fast asleep.

Chapter 2 The Council with the Munchkins.

She was awakened by a shock so sudden and severe that if Dorothy had not been lying on the soft bed she might have been hurt.

As it was the jar made her catch her breath and wonder what had happened and Toto put his cold little nose into her face and whined dismally.

Dorothy sat up and noticed that the house was not moving nor was it dark for the bright sunshine came in at the window flooding the little room.

She sprang from her bed and with Toto at her heels ran and opened the door.

The girl gave a little cry of amazement and looked about her,

Her eyes growing bigger and bigger at the wonderful sights she saw.

The cyclone had set the house down very gently for a cyclone in the midst of a country of marvelous beauty.

There were lovely patches of greensward all about with stately trees bearing rich and luscious fruits.

Banks of gorgeous flowers were on every hand and birds with a rare and brilliant plumage sang and fluttered in the trees and bushes.

A little way off was a small brook rushing and sparkling along between green banks and murmuring in a voice very grateful to a little girl who had lived so long in the dry gray prairies.

While she stood looking eagerly at the strange and beautiful sights she noticed something coming toward her.

A group of the strangest people she had ever seen.

They were not as big as the grown folk she had always been used to but neither were they very small.

In fact they seemed about as tall as Dorothy who was a well-grown child for her age although they were as far as looks go many years older.

Three were men and one a woman and all were oddly dressed.

They wore round hats that rose to a small point a foot above their heads with little bells around the brims that tingled sweetly as they moved.

The hats of the men were blue and the little woman's hat was white and she wore a white gown that hung in pleats from her shoulders.

Over it were sprinkled little stars that glistened in the sun like diamonds.

The men were dressed in blue of the same shade as their hats and wore well-polished boots with a deep roll of blue at the tops.

The men,

Dorothy thought,

Were about as old as Uncle Henry for two of them had beards but the little woman was doubtless much older.

Her face was covered with wrinkles,

Her hair was nearly white,

And she walked rather stiffly.

When these people drew near the house where Dorothy was standing in the doorway they paused and whispered among themselves as if afraid to come farther but the little old woman walked up to Dorothy made a low bow and said in a sweet voice,

You are welcome,

Most noble sorceress to the land of the munchkins.

We are so grateful to you for having killed the Wicked Witch of the East and for setting our people free from bondage.

Dorothy listened to this speech with wonder.

What could the little woman possibly mean calling her a sorceress and saying she had killed the Wicked Witch of the East?

Dorothy was an innocent harmless little girl who had been carried by a cyclone many miles from home and she had never killed anything in all her life but the little woman evidently expected her to answer so Dorothy said with hesitation,

You are very kind but there must be some mistake I have not killed anything.

Your house did anyway replied the old woman with a laugh and that is the same thing see she continued pointing to the corner of the house there are her two feet still sticking out from under a block of wood.

Dorothy looked and gasped there indeed just under the corner of the great beam the house rested on two feet were sticking out shod in silver shoes with pointed toes.

Oh dear oh dear cried Dorothy clasping her hands together in dismay the house must have fallen on her whatever shall we do there is nothing to be done said the little woman calmly but who was she asked Dorothy she was the Wicked Witch of the East as I said answered the little woman she has held all the munchkins in bondage for many years making them slave for her night and day now they are all set free and are grateful to you for the favor.

Who are the munchkins inquired Dorothy.

They are the people who live in this land of the East where the Wicked Witch ruled.

Are you a munchkin asked Dorothy.

No but I am their friend although I live in the land of the North when they saw the Witch of the East was dead the munchkins sent a swift messenger to me and I came at once I am the Witch of the North.

Oh gracious cried Dorothy are you a real witch.

Yes indeed answered the little woman but I am a good witch and the people love me I am not as powerful as the Wicked Witch who ruled here or I should have set the people free myself but I thought all witches were wicked said the girl who was half frightened at facing a real witch.

Oh no that is a great mistake there were only four witches in all the land of Oz two of them those who live in the north and south are good witches I know this is true for I am one of them myself and cannot be mistaken those who dwelt in the East and West were indeed wicked witches but now you have killed one of them there is but one Wicked Witch in all the land of Oz the one who lives in the West.

But said Dorothy after a moment's thought Aunt Em has told me that all the witches were dead years and years ago.

Who is Aunt Em inquired the little woman.

She is my aunt who lives in Kansas where I came from.

The Witch of the North seemed to think for a time with her head bowed and her eyes upon the ground then she looked up and said I do not know where Kansas is for I have never heard that country mentioned before but tell me is it a civilized country?

Oh yes replied Dorothy.

Then that accounts for it in the civilized countries I believe there are no witches left nor wizards nor sorceress nor magicians but you see the land of Oz has never been civilized for we are cut off from the rest of the world therefore we still have witches and wizards amongst us.

Who are the wizards asked Dorothy.

Oz himself is the great wizard answered the witch sinking her voice to a whisper he is more powerful than all the rest of us together he lives in the city of Emeralds.

Dorothy was going to ask another question but just then the munchkins who had been standing silently by gave a loud shout and pointed to the corner of the house where the Wicked Witch had been lying.

What is it asked the little old woman and looked and began to laugh the feet of the dead witch had disappeared entirely and nothing was left but the silver shoes.

She was so old explained the Witch of the North that she dried up quickly in the sun that is the end of her but the silver shoes are yours and you shall have them to wear.

She reached down and picked up the shoes after shaking the dust out of them and handed them to Dorothy.

The Witch of the East was proud of those silver shoes said one of the munchkins and there is some charm connected with them but what it is we never knew.

Dorothy carried the shoes into the house and placed them on the table then she came out again to the munchkins and said I am anxious to get back to my aunt and uncle for I'm sure they will worry about me can you help me find my way?

The munchkins and the witch first looked at one another and then at Dorothy and then shook their heads.

At the East not far from here said one there is a great desert and none could live to cross it.

It is the same at the South said another for I have been there and seen it the South is the country of the quadlings.

I am told said the third man that it is the same at the West and that country where the Winkies live is ruled by the Wicked Witch of the West who would make you her slave if you passed her way.

The North is my home said the old lady and at its edge is the same great desert that surrounds this land of Oz.

I'm afraid my dear you will have to live with us.

Dorothy began to sob at this for she felt lonely among all these strange people.

Her tears seemed to grieve the kind-hearted munchkins for they immediately took out their handkerchiefs and began to weep also.

As for the little old woman she took off her cap and balanced to the point at the end of her nose while she counted one two three in a solemn voice.

At once the cap changed to a slate on which was written in big white chalk marks.

Let Dorothy go to the city of emeralds.

The little old woman took the slate from her nose and having read the words on it asked is your name Dorothy my dear?

Yes answered the child looking up and drying her tears.

Then you must go to the city of emeralds.

Perhaps Oz will help you.

Where is this city asked Dorothy.

It is exactly in the center of the country and is ruled by Oz the great wizard I told you of.

Is he a good man inquired the girl anxiously.

He is a good wizard whether he is a man or not I cannot tell for I have never seen him.

How can I get there asked Dorothy.

You must walk.

It is a long journey through a country that is sometimes pleasant and sometimes dark and terrible.

However I will use all the magic arts I know of to keep you from harm.

Won't you go with me pleaded the girl who had begun to look upon the old woman as her only friend.

No I cannot do that she replied but I will give you my kiss and no one will dare injure a person who has been kissed by the witch of the north.

She came close to Dorothy and kissed her gently on the forehead where her lips touched the girl they left a round shining mark as Dorothy found out soon after.

The road to the city of emeralds is paved with yellow brick said the witch so you cannot miss it.

When you get to Oz do not be afraid of him but tell him your story and ask for help.

Goodbye my dear.

The three munchkins bowed low to her and wished her a pleasant journey after which they walked away through the trees.

The witch gave Dorothy a friendly little nod whirled around on her left heel three times and straightaway disappeared much to the surprise of little Toto who barked after her loudly enough when she had gone because he had been afraid even to growl while she stood by but Dorothy knowing her to be a witch had expected her to disappear in just that way and was not surprised in the least.

I wish you sweet dreams.

Good night.

Reviews

What a wonderful book to read aloud, Bella. I've never read this classic, so thank you for doing so, as I now know the true color of the ruby red slippers...😌🌈😊