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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, and after shaking

the dust out of them 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 am 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 the point on 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 little 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 your story and ask him to help you.

Good-bye, 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 straightway 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.

3. How Dorothy Saved the Scarecrow

When Dorothy was left alone she began to feel hungry. So she

went to the cupboard and cut herself some bread, which she spread

with butter. She gave some to Toto, and taking a pail from the

shelf she carried it down to the little brook and filled it with

clear, sparkling water. Toto ran over to the trees and began to

bark at the birds sitting there. Dorothy went to get him, and saw

such delicious fruit hanging from the branches that she gathered

some of it, finding it just what she wanted to help out her breakfast.

Then she went back to the house, and having helped herself and

Toto to a good drink of the cool, clear water, she set about

making ready for the journey to the City of Emeralds.

Dorothy had only one other dress, but that happened to be

clean and was hanging on a peg beside her bed. It was gingham,

with checks of white and blue; and although the blue was somewhat

faded with many washings, it was still a pretty frock. The girl

washed herself carefully, dressed herself in the clean gingham,

and tied her pink sunbonnet on her head. She took a little basket

and filled it with bread from the cupboard, laying a white cloth

over the top. Then she looked down at her feet and noticed how

old and worn her shoes were.

"They surely will never do for a long journey, Toto," she said.

And Toto looked up into her face with his little black eyes and wagged

his tail to show he knew what she meant.

At that moment Dorothy saw lying on the table the silver shoes

that had belonged to the Witch of the East.

"I wonder if they will fit me," she said to Toto. "They would be

just the thing to take a long walk in, for they could not wear out."

She took off her old leather shoes and tried on the silver

ones, which fitted her as well as if they had been made for her.

Finally she picked up her basket.

"Come along, Toto," she said. "We will go to the Emerald City

and ask the Great Oz how to get back to Kansas again."

She closed the door, locked it, and put the key carefully in

the pocket of her dress. And so, with Toto trotting along soberly

behind her, she started on her journey.

There were several roads near by, but it did not take her long

to find the one paved with yellow bricks. Within a short time she

was walking briskly toward the Emerald City, her silver shoes

tinkling merrily on the hard, yellow road-bed. The sun shone

bright and the birds sang sweetly, and Dorothy did not feel

nearly so bad as you might think a little girl would who had

been suddenly whisked away from her own country and set down

in the midst of a strange land.

She was surprised, as she walked along, to see how pretty the

country was about her. There were neat fences at the sides of the

road, painted a dainty blue color, and beyond them were fields of

grain and vegetables in abundance. Evidently the Munchkins were

good farmers and able to raise large crops. Once in a while she

would pass a house, and the people came out to look at her and bow

low as she went by; for everyone knew she had been the means of

destroying the Wicked Witch and setting them free from bondage.

The houses of the Munchkins were odd-looking dwellings, for each

was round, with a big dome for a roof. All were painted blue,

for in this country of the East blue was the favorite color.

Toward evening, when Dorothy was tired with her long walk and

began to wonder where she should pass the night, she came to a

house rather larger than the rest. On the green lawn before it

many men and women were dancing. Five little fiddlers played as

loudly as possible, and the people were laughing and singing,

while a big table near by was loaded with delicious fruits and

nuts, pies and cakes, and many other good things to eat.

The people greeted Dorothy kindly, and invited her to supper and

to pass the night with them; for this was the home of one of the

richest Munchkins in the land, and his friends were gathered with

him to celebrate their freedom from the bondage of the Wicked Witch.

Dorothy ate a hearty supper and was waited upon by the rich

Munchkin himself, whose name was Boq. Then she sat upon a settee

and watched the people dance.

When Boq saw her silver shoes he said, "You must be a great sorceress."

"Why?"