THE WIZARD OF OZ AUDIO BOOK :CHAPTER 9: THE EMERALD CITY
THE WIZARD OF OZ
CHAPTER 1 – CHAPTER 2 – CHAPTER 3 – CHAPTER 4 – CHAPTER 5 – CHAPTER 6 – CHAPTER 7 – CHAPTER 8 – CHAPTER 9 – CHAPTER 10 – CHAPTER 11 – CHAPTER 12 – CHAPTER 13 – CHAPTER 14 – CHAPTER 15 – CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 9 : THE EMERALD CITY
The Cowardly Lion slept for a long time. But at last he woke up and looked around him.
“1 am very happy to see you all again,” he said when he saw his friends. “How did you get me out of the poppy-field?”
“Well, we had some help,” the Scarecrow said. Dorothy told the Lion about the field mice and how they had saved him.
The Cowardly Lion laughed. “I have been happy because I’m so big and strong,” he said. “But little flowers nearly killed me and little animals saved me. I must remember that. What will we do now?”
“We must find the yellow brick road again,” Dorothy said.
“When you are ready, we will be on our way.”
“I feel fine,” the Lion said. “On to the Emerald City!”
Soon they reached the yellow brick road again and started walking along it. There were houses and farms on either side of the road now. The houses were painted green. Sometimes they saw
people and they were all dressed in green too.
“This must be the Land of Oz,” Dorothy said. “Everything is green, so the Emerald City can’t be far away.”
“I don’t think that we shall get there tonight,” the Scarecrow said. “We need somewhere to stay.”
“Then let’s stop at the next house,” Dorothy said. “I want somewhere to sleep. I am feeling hungry too, and so is Toto.
Soon, they came to a farmhouse and Dorothy knocked on the door. It opened and a woman looked out.
“What do you want?” she asked. “Why is there a lion with you? He is very big and I am afraid of him.”
“Please don’t worry. This is the Cowardly Lion and he is more afraid of you,” Dorothy replied. “He is my friend and so is this Scarecrow and this Tin Man. Can we all stay with you tonight? We have walked a long way.”
“Come in,” the woman said. “You can have some supper too.”
There was a man in the house. He looked up in surprise when Dorothy and her friends entered.
“Where are you all going?” the man asked.
“To the Emerald City, to see the Great Oz,” Dorothy replied.
“Are you sure that Oz will see you?” the man said. “I have been there many times, but I have never seen him.”
“Why not?” the Scarecrow asked.
“He never goes out,” the man replied. “He stays in his palace every day.”
“What does the Great Oz look like?” Dorothy asked.
“That is a difficult question,” the man replied. “Oz is a great Wizard, so he can change himself by magic. No one is sure what he looks like. He never sees anyone.”
“Oh dear,” Dorothy said. “We have come a long way to see him. We all want him to help us, you see.”
“Yes, I want Oz to give me some brains,” said the Scarecrow.
“I want a heart,” said the Tin Man.
“And I want courage,” said the Cowardly Lion.
“Oh, all those things will be easy for him,” the man replied. Then he turned to Dorothy.
“And what do you want, my dear?” he asked.
“I want Oz to send me and Toto back to Kansas,” she replied.
“I have never heard of Kansas,” the man said. “Is it far?”
“I don’t know. But I know that it is my home and that I want to go back there,” Dorothy explained sadly.
“I’m sure that Oz knows where Kansas is. He knows everything,” the man said. “But you will have to see him first and that will be difficult.”
The woman gave them supper—though the Scarecrow and the Tin Man did not eat anything. Then Dorothy and Toto went to sleep on a soft bed and the Lion slept by the door.
The Scarecrow and the Tin Man stood up all night.
In the morning, they all thanked the man and woman and started on their way. There was a green light shining in the sky.
“That must be the Emerald City,” Dorothy said.
They walked all day. The green light in the sky got brighter and brighter. In the afternoon, they came to the end of the yellow brick road. It ended at the high green wall that went around the Emerald City.
In front of them was a big gate. It was covered with emeralds. The beautiful green stones shone in the sunlight.
Dorothy rang the bell beside the gate. It opened and they walked into a beautiful room. Everything shone with a green light.
A little green man stood in the middle of the room.
“You are entering the Emerald City” the green man said.
“I am the Guardian” of the Gate. Can I help you?”
“We have come to see the Great Oz,” Dorothy replied.
The green man looked very surprised.
“No one has asked to see Oz for years,” he said. “He is a very great Wizard, but he is terrible too. If you have come here to waste his time, he will be very angry. You may never
leave the Emerald City again.”
“We were told that Oz was a good Wizard,” the Scarecrow said. “We’ve come a long way. We haven’t come here to
waste his time.”
“Then I will take you to his Palace,” the green man said.
The Emerald City of Oz was a wonderful place. All the buildings were made of green marble , with windows made of green glass. There were beautiful green emeralds everywhere.
All the people were green and they were wearing green clothes too. The green people looked at Dorothy and her friends as they walked by. But no one spoke to them.
At last, the friends came to a big building in the middle of the city. It was the Palace of Oz, the Great Wizard. A soldier, dressed in green, was standing in front of the door.
“These people are strangers,” the Guardian of the Gate said to the soldier. “They want to see the Great Oz.”
The soldier looked surprised.
“Come in,” he said. “I will tell Oz that you are here.”
Then the soldier went away for a long time.
“Did you see Oz?” Dorothy asked, when he came back.
“Oh, no. I have never seen him,” the soldier replied. “He sits behind a screen. But I told him about you.”
“And what did he say?” the Tin Man asked.
“Oz will see you, but not all together. He will speak to one of you every day.” the soldier replied. “Now you can go to your rooms. You can rest there, until Oz sends for you.”
“Thank you,” Dorothy said. “That is very kind of Oz.”
A girl dressed in green, with beautiful green hair and green eyes, came into the room and smiled at Dorothy.
“Please follow me,” the girl said. Then Dorothy, with Toto in her arms, followed her through the Palace of the Great Oz.
The green girl opened a door that was covered with emeralds.
“Here you are,” she said to Dorothy. “You will be happy here. Sleep well and Oz will send for you tomorrow morning.
Now I must take your friends to their rooms.”
Everything in Dorothy’s room was green. The soft bed was covered in green. There were green dresses for Dorothy to wear and green books for her to read.
Dorothy slept very well that night. In the morning, after breakfast, she washed and put on a green silk dress. She tied a green ribbon around Toto’s neck. They were ready.
THE WIZARD OF OZ
CHAPTER 1 – CHAPTER 2 – CHAPTER 3 – CHAPTER 4 – CHAPTER 5 – CHAPTER 6 – CHAPTER 7 – CHAPTER 8 – CHAPTER 9 – CHAPTER 10 – CHAPTER 11 – CHAPTER 12 – CHAPTER 13 – CHAPTER 14 – CHAPTER 15 – CHAPTER 16