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"Of course," answered the girl, "if he will see me."

"Oh, he will see you," said the soldier who had taken her

message to the Wizard, "although he does not like to have people

ask to see him. Indeed, at first he was angry and said I should

send you back where you came from. Then he asked me what you

looked like, and when I mentioned your silver shoes he was very

much interested. At last I told him about the mark upon your

forehead, and he decided he would admit you to his presence."

Just then a bell rang, and the green girl said to Dorothy,

"That is the signal. You must go into the Throne Room alone."

She opened a little door and Dorothy walked boldly through and

found herself in a wonderful place. It was a big, round room with

a high arched roof, and the walls and ceiling and floor were covered

with large emeralds set closely together. In the center of the roof

was a great light, as bright as the sun, which made the emeralds

sparkle in a wonderful manner.

But what interested Dorothy most was the big throne of green

marble that stood in the middle of the room. It was shaped like a

chair and sparkled with gems, as did everything else. In the

center of the chair was an enormous Head, without a body to

support it or any arms or legs whatever. There was no hair upon

this head, but it had eyes and a nose and mouth, and was much

bigger than the head of the biggest giant.

As Dorothy gazed upon this in wonder and fear, the eyes turned

slowly and looked at her sharply and steadily. Then the mouth

moved, and Dorothy heard a voice say:

"I am Oz, the Great and Terrible. Who are you, and why do you

seek me?"

It was not such an awful voice as she had expected to come

from the big Head; so she took courage and answered:

"I am Dorothy, the Small and Meek. I have come to you for help."

The eyes looked at her thoughtfully for a full minute.

Then said the voice:

"Where did you get the silver shoes?"

"I got them from the Wicked Witch of the East, when my house

fell on her and killed her," she replied.

"Where did you get the mark upon your forehead?" continued the voice.

"That is where the Good Witch of the North kissed me when she

bade me good-bye and sent me to you," said the girl.

Again the eyes looked at her sharply, and they saw she was

telling the truth. Then Oz asked, "What do you wish me to do?"

"Send me back to Kansas, where my Aunt Em and Uncle Henry are,"

she answered earnestly. "I don't like your country, although it is

so beautiful. And I am sure Aunt Em will be dreadfully worried over

my being away so long."

The eyes winked three times, and then they turned up to the

ceiling and down to the floor and rolled around so queerly that

they seemed to see every part of the room. And at last they

looked at Dorothy again.

"Why should I do this for you?" asked Oz.

"Because you are strong and I am weak; because you are a Great

Wizard and I am only a little girl."

"But you were strong enough to kill the Wicked Witch of the East,"

said Oz.

"That just happened," returned Dorothy simply; "I could not help it."

"Well," said the Head, "I will give you my answer. You have no

right to expect me to send you back to Kansas unless you do something

for me in return. In this country everyone must pay for everything

he gets. If you wish me to use my magic power to send you home again

you must do something for me first. Help me and I will help you."

"What must I do?"