THE WIZARD OF OZ AUDIO BOOK :CHAPTER 15: THE JOURNEY TO THE SOUTH

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

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CHAPTER 15 : THE JOURNEY TO THE SOUTH

Dorothy cried for a long time after Oz left. “How will I ever get back to Kansas now?” she said.
“I’ll never see Aunt Em and Uncle Henry again.”
“I am sorry,” the Tin Man said. “Oz was a humbug, but he gave me my heart.”
The friends were in the Throne Room. The Scarecrow was now the King of the Emerald City. He was sitting on the throne and the others were standing in front of him.
“I have been very lucky,” the Scarecrow said. “Not long ago, I was on a pole in a field. Now I am King of this beautiful city. We can all be happy, if Dorothy can forget her home in Kansas.”
“But I don’t want to forget Kansas!” the poor girl cried. “I think about my home every day. I want to go back.”
“Well then, we must try to help you,” the Tin Man said.
The Scarecrow was thinking very hard with his new brains.
“Why don’t you call the Winged Monkeys?” he asked at last. “They can carry you over the desert.”
Dorothy ran to get her Golden Cap. Then she said the magic words and the Winged Monkeys arrived at once.
“This is your second wish. How can we help you?” the King of the Winged Monkeys asked.
“I want you to carry me back to Kansas,” Dorothy said.
“I’m sorry. We can’t do that,” the King of the Winged Monkeys replied. “We can only fly in this country. Winged
Monkeys never go to Kansas. Goodbye.” And the King of the Winged Monkeys flew away.
“Now I have used two of the Golden Cap’s wishes,” Dorothy said sadly. “I have only one wish left.”
The Scarecrow thought again. Then he called the green soldier into the Throne Room.
“My friend Dorothy wishes to cross the desert,” the Scarecrow said to him. “How can she do that?”
“No one ever crosses the desert,” the green soldier replied.
“Please think,” Dorothy said. “Can anyone help me?”
“There is Glinda, the Witch of the South,” the green soldier said slowly. “She is the most powerful of all the witches. She rules over the Quadlings and her castle is very near the desert. She may be able to help you.”

 

“Is Glinda a good witch?” Dorothy asked.
“Glinda is good and kind. And she is beautiful too,” the green soldier replied. “But the journey to the Land of the South is very dangerous. Quadlings never come to the Emerald City.”
Then the green soldier bowed and left the Throne Room.
“So I must go to the Land of the South,” Dorothy said.
“I will go with you,” the Lion said. “You will need me to help you. I am a wild animal and I am tired of living in a city.I want to see the forest again.”
“I will go with you,” the Tin Man said. “I’ll take my axe.”
“When do we start?” the Scarecrow asked.
“But you are the King of the Emerald City!” his friends said. They were all speaking at the same time.
“I must help Dorothy,” the Scarecrow replied. “She found me in the cornfield and brought me here.”
“Thank you,” Dorothy said. “You are all very kind.”
The next morning, the friends left the Emerald City.
“You have all looked after me very well,” Dorothy said to the Guardian of the Gate. “I will never forget my time here.”
“I wish that you could stay,” the Guardian replied, “but I know that Kansas is your home.”
“We will do our best to help her,” the Scarecrow said. “I will be back as soon as Dorothy is on her way to Kansas.”

The sun was shining brightly as the friends began their journey to the Land of the South. They were all feeling very happy. Dorothy was thinking of Kansas. The Tin Man and the Scarecrow were happy because they were helping her.
The animals were happy too.
“I don’t like city life at all,” the Lion said as he walked along. “The forest is the best place for me.”
Toto was running about and barking loudly. The friends all stopped to take a final look at the Emerald City. It shone with a beautiful green light. In the middle of the city was the Palace of the Great Oz.
“Oz was not a bad Wizard,” said the Tin Man. “He gave me my heart and I am very happy with it.”
“My brains have been useful already,” said the Scarecrow.
“And I am not a coward anymore,” said the Lion. Dorothy said nothing. Oz hadn’t helped her at all.
On the first day of their journey, the friends walked through green fields. They slept well that night, and in the morning, they came to a forest. They walked on.
“This is a fine place for a wild animal,” the Lion said. “I would like to stay here. There may be other wild animals, but I can’t see any. We must look for them.”
The Lion’s friends were a little afraid of seeing wild animals, but they said nothing. They slept under the trees that night. The next morning, the friends heard some strange sounds, but they walked on again bravely.

 

After a time, they came to a big open place that was full of wild animals—there were hundreds and hundreds of them.
There were tigers, elephants, bears, wolves and many others. At first, Dorothy was afraid. But the Lion told her that the animals were having a meeting.
“I think they are worried about something,” he said.
At that moment, a tiger came up to the Lion.
“Welcome, Î Lion,” the tiger said. “We need you to bring peace to the animals in this forest.”
“How can I help you?” the Lion asked.
“A terrible monster has come into the forest,” the tiger replied. “The monster has eight long hairy legs and it can move very quickly. But it is as big as an elephant and it eats anything. It has eaten several of us already.”
“Are there any other lions in the forest?” the Lion asked.
“No, the monster has eaten them all,” the tiger replied.
“If I kill the monster, will you make me your King?” the Lion asked.
“We will!” all the animals cried.
“Where is the monster now?” the Lion asked.
“In the darkest part of the forest,” the tiger said. “Be careful!”
The monster was asleep when the Lion found him. Its mouth was open and the Lion could see its huge, sharp teeth. The monster had a big, ugly head and a very fat body. The head and body were joined together by a very long thin neck.
The Lion jumped onto the monster’s back and he bit its head from its body. The monster’s hairy legs moved for a time, then they stopped. Then the Lion went back to his friends and the other animals.
“The monster is dead. I am your King!” the Lion cried.
“You are our King!” all the animals roared.
“Thank you,” the Lion replied. “First, I have to help my friend Dorothy get back to Kansas. When I have done that, I will come back to the forest and be your King. Goodbye.”
All the animals bowed to the Lion. The four friends walked on to the end of the forest. In front of them was a steep hill that was covered with big pieces of rock.

“We must climb over this hill to get to the Land of the South. I’ll go first,” the Scarecrow said.
They had nearly reached the first rock, when they heard someone say,
“Keep back! This hill belongs to us!”
“Who are you?” asked the Scarecrow.
A short, heavy man stepped out from behind the rock. His head was flat at the top. He had a thick neck, but no arms.
“We must go over this hill. We are going to the Land of the Quadlings and you can’t stop us,” the Scarecrow said.

 

“Oh, yes I can,” the man said. As he spoke, he stretched out his neck and hit the Scarecrow hard with his flat head.
The poor Scarecrow rolled down the hill.
“It isn’t that easy!” the man shouted. There was the sound of more laughter from behind every rock. Then Dorothy saw that there were hundreds of Hammer-Heads
on the hill.

The Lion roared with anger and ran up the hill. The next moment, a Hammer-Head hit him and the Lion rolled down the hill too.
“I’m sorry,” the Lion said. “He was too quick for me.”
“What can we do?” Dorothy asked.
“Call the Winged Monkeys!” the Tin Man said.
“What a good idea!” Dorothy cried.
She put on the Golden Cap and said the magic words. The Winged Monkeys came at once. The King bowed to Dorothy.
“What can we do for you?” he asked.
“Please carry us to the country of the Quadlings,” Dorothy said.
The Winged Monkeys picked up the four friends and carried them high over the hill. The Hammer-Heads shouted and stretched out their necks, but they could not reach them.
Very soon, Dorothy and her friends were standing in the beautiful country of the Quadlings.
“That was your third wish,” the King of the Winged Monkeys said to Dorothy. “You cannot send for us again.
Goodbye and good luck!”
“Goodbye and thank you!” Dorothy cried.
The country of the Quadlings looked like a rich and pleasant place. The big fields were full of com. The roads were good and the farmhouses were all painted bright red.
Some Quadlings were working in the fields. They were short fat people and they were all smiling. Their clothes were red.
Dorothy walked up to a farmhouse and knocked at the door. A Quadling woman opened it and invited the friends inside.
When Dorothy asked for some food, the woman gave them three kinds of cake and some fresh milk.
“How far is it to the Castle of Glinda, the Good Witch of the South?” Dorothy asked the woman.
“It’s not very far,” the Quadling woman replied, with a smile. “Take the road to the South and you will soon be there.”
So Dorothy thanked the woman and the friends walked on to a very beautiful castle. Three girls were standing by the gates. They were dressed like soldiers, in red and gold.
“Why have you come here?” one of the girls asked Dorothy.
“To see Glinda, the Good Witch,” Dorothy replied. “My name is Dorothy. My friends are the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Lion. And this is my dog, Toto.”
The girl smiled and went into the castle. In a few moments, she came out again.
“Glinda will see you at once,” she said. “Come in.”

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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