Chapter 18 - The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - L. Frank Baum

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Chapter eighteen. Away to the South, Dorothy wept bitterly at the passing of
her hope to get home to Kansasagain. But when she thought it all
over, she was glad she hadnot gone up in a balloon. And
she also felt sorry at losing Oz, and so did her companions. The
tin woodman came to her and said, truly, I should be ungrateful if

(00:22):
I failed to mourn for a manwho gave me a lovely heart. I
should like to cry a little becauseOz is gone. If you will kindly
wipe away my tears so that Ishall not rust with pleasure, she answered,
and brought a towel at once.Then the tin woodman wept for several
minutes, and she watched the tearscarefully and wiped them away with the towel.

(00:43):
When he had finished, he thankedher kindly and oiled himself thoroughly with
his jeweled oil can to guard againstmishap. The Scarecrow was now the ruler
of the Emerald City, and althoughhe was not a wizard, the people
were proud of him, for theysaid, there is not another city in
all the world that is ruled bya stuffed man, And so far as

(01:03):
they knew, they were quite right. The morning after the balloon had gone
up with Oz, the four travelersmet in the throne room and talked matters
over. The scarecrow sat in thebig throne, and the others stood respectfully
before him. We are not sounlucky, said the new ruler, for
this palace in the Emerald City belongedto us, and we can do just
as we please. When I rememberthat a short time ago I was up

(01:27):
on a pole in a farmer's cornfield, and that now I am the ruler
of this beautiful city, I amquite satisfied with my lot, I also
said the tin woodman, AM wellpleased with my new heart, And really
that was the only thing I wishedin all the world. For my part,
I am content to knowing I amas brave as any beast that ever

(01:49):
lived, if not braver, saidthe lion modestly. If Dorothy would only
be contented to live in the EmeraldCity, continued the scarecrow, we might
all be happy together. But Idon't want to live here, cried Dorothy.
I want to go to Kansas andlive with Aunt em and Uncle Henry.
Well, then, what can bedone? Inquired the woodman. The

(02:10):
scarecrow decided to think, and hethought so hard that the pins and needles
began to stick out of his brains. Finally, he said, why not
called the wing monkeys and ask themto carry you over the desert. I
never thought of that, said Dorothyjoyfully. It's just the thing. I'll
go at once for the golden cap. When she brought it into the throne

(02:30):
room, she spoke the magic words, and soon the band of wing monkeys
flew in through the open window andstood beside her. This is the second
time you have called us, saidthe Monkey King, bowing before the little
girl. What do you wish?I want you to fly with me to
Kansas, said Dorothy. But theMonkey King shook his head. This cannot

(02:51):
be done, he said. Webelong to this country alone and cannot leave
it. There has never been awing monkey in Kansas yet, and I
suppose there are never will be,for they don't belong there. We shall
be glad to serve you in anyway in our power, but we cannot
cross the desert. Goodbye, andwith another bow, the Monkey King spread
his wings and flew away through thewindow, followed by all his band.

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Dorothy was ready to cry with disappointment. I have wasted the charm of the
golden cap to no purpose, shesaid, For the winged monkeys cannot help
me. It is certainly too bad, said the tender hearted woodman. The
scarecrow was thinking again, and hishead bulged out so horribly that Dorothy feared
it would burst. Let us callon the soldier with the green whiskers,

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he said, and ask his advice. So the soldier was summoned and entered
the throne room timidly, For whileOz was alive, he never was allowed
to come farther than the door.This little girl, said the scarecrow to
the soldier, wishes to cross thedesert. How can she do so?
I cannot tell, answered the soldier, for no one has ever crossed the

(03:58):
desert unless it is Oz himself.Is there no one who will help me,
asked Dorothy earnestly. Glinda might,he suggested. Who is Glinda,
inquired the scarecrow. The Witch ofthe South. She is the most powerful
of all the witches and rules overthe quadlings. Besides, her castle stands
on the edge of the desert,so she may know a way to cross

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it. Glinda is a good witch, isn't she asked the child. The
Quadlings think she is good, saidthe soldier, And she is kind to
everyone. I have heard that Glindais a beautiful woman who knows how to
keep young in spite of the manyyears she has lived. How can I
get to her castle, asked Dorothy. The road is straight to the south,

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he answered, but is said tobe full of dangers to travelers.
There are wild beasts in the woodsand a race of queer men who do
not like strangers to cross their country. For this reason, none of the
Quadlings ever come to the Emerald city. The soldier then left them, and
the scarecrow said, it seems,in spite of dangers that the best thing

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Dorothy can do is travel to theland of the South and ask Glinda to
help her. For of course,if Dorothy stays here, she will never
get back to Kansas. You musthave been thinking, again, remarked the
tin woodman. I have said thescarecrow. I shall go with Dorothy,
declared the lion, for I amtired of your city and long for the

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woods in the country. Again,I am really a wild beast, you
know. Besides, Dorothy will needsomeone to protect her. That is true,
agreed the woodman. My axe maybe of service to her. So
I shall go with her to theland of the South. When shall we
start, asked the scarecrow. Areyou going? They ask in surprise.

(05:46):
Certainly. If it wasn't for Dorothy, I should never have had brains.
She lifted me from the pole inthe cornfield and brought me to the Emerald
City. So my good luck isall due to her, and I shall
never leave her until she starts backto Kansas for good and all. Thank
you, said Dorothy, gratefully.You are all very kind to me,
But I should like to start assoon as possible. We shall go tomorrow

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morning, returned the Scarecrow. Sonow let us all get ready, for
it will be a long journey.End of Chapter eighteen.