She was awakened by a shock, so sudden and severe that if Dorothy had not been lying on the soft bed she might have been hurt. As it was, the jar made her catch her breath and wonder what had happened; and Toto put his cold little nose into her face and whined dismally.

Dorothy sat up and noticed that the house was not moving; nor was it dark, for the bright sunshine came in at the window, flooding the little room. She sprang from her bed and with Toto at her heels ran and opened the door.

The little girl gave a cry of amazement and looked about her, her eyes growing bigger and bigger at the wonderful sights she saw.

The cyclone had set the house down very gently—for a cyclone—in the midst of a country of marvelous beauty. There were lovely patches of greensward all about, with stately trees bearing rich and luscious fruits. Banks of gorgeous flowers were on every hand, and birds with rare and brilliant plumage sang and fluttered in the trees and bushes. A little way off was a small brook, rushing and sparkling along between green banks, and murmuring in a voice very grateful to a little girl who had lived so long on the dry, gray prairies.

While she stood looking eagerly at the strange and beautiful sights, she noticed coming toward her a group of the queerest people she had ever seen. They were not as big as the grown folk she had always been used to; but neither were they very small. In fact, they seemed about as tall as Dorothy, who was a well-grown child for her age, although they were, so far as looks go, many years older.

Three were men and one a woman, and all were oddly dressed. They wore round hats that rose to a small point a foot above their heads, with little bells around the brims that tinkled sweetly as they moved. The hats of the men were blue; the little woman's hat was white, and she wore a white gown that hung in pleats from her shoulders. Over it were sprinkled little stars that glistened in the sun like diamonds. The men were dressed in blue, of the same shade as their hats, and wore well-polished boots with a deep roll of blue at the tops. The men, Dorothy thought, were about as old as Uncle Henry, for two of them had beards. But the little woman was doubtless much older. Her face was covered with wrinkles, her hair was nearly white, and she walked rather stiffly.

When these people drew near the house where Dorothy was standing in the doorway, they paused and whispered among themselves, as if afraid to come farther. But the little old woman walked up to Dorothy, made a low bow and said, in a sweet voice: “You are welcome, most noble Sorceress, to the land of the Munchkins. We are so grateful to you for having killed the Wicked Witch of the East, and for setting our people free from bondage.”

Dorothy listened to this speech with wonder. What could the little woman possibly mean by calling her a sorceress, and saying she had killed the Wicked Witch of the East? Dorothy was an innocent, harmless little girl, who had been carried by a cyclone many miles from home; and she had never killed anything in all her life.

But the little woman evidently expected her to answer; so Dorothy said, with hesitation, “You are very kind, but there must be some mistake. I have not killed anything.”

“Your house did, anyway,”replied the little old woman, with a laugh, “and that is the same thing. See!”she continued, pointing to the corner of the house. “There are her two feet, still sticking out from under a block of wood.”

Dorothy looked, and gave a little cry of fright. There, indeed, just under the corner of the great beam the house rested on, two feet were sticking out, shod in silver shoes with pointed toes.

“Oh, dear! Oh, dear!”cried Dorothy, clasping her hands together in dismay. “The house must have fallen on her. Whatever shall we do?”

“There is nothing to be done,”said the little woman calmly.

“But who was she?”asked Dorothy.

“She was the Wicked Witch of the East, as I said,”answered the little woman. “She has held all the Munchkins in bondage for many years, making them slave for her night and day. Now they are all set free, and are grateful to you for the favor.”

“Who are the Munchkins?”inquired Dorothy.

“They are the people who live in this land of the East where the Wicked Witch ruled.”

“Are you a Munchkin?”asked Dorothy.

“No, but I am their friend, although I live in the land of the North. When they saw the Witch of the East was dead the Munchkins sent a swift messenger to me, and I came at once. I am the Witch of the North.”

“Oh, gracious!”cried Dorothy. “Are you a real witch?”

“Yes, indeed,”answered the little woman. “But I am a good witch, and the people love me. I am not as powerful as the Wicked Witch was who ruled here, or I should have set the people free myself.”

“But I thought all witches were wicked,”said the girl, who was half frightened at facing a real witch.

“Oh, no, that is a great mistake. There were only four witches in all the Land of Oz, and two of them, those who live in the North and the South, are good witches. I know this is true, for I am one of them myself, and cannot be mistaken. Those who dwelt in the East and the West were, indeed, wicked witches; but now that you have killed one of them, there is but one Wicked Witch in all the Land of Oz—the one who lives in the West.”

“But,”said Dorothy, after a moment's thought, “Aunt Em has told me that the witches were all dead—years and years ago.”

“Who is Aunt Em?”inquired the little old woman.

“She is my aunt who lives in Kansas, where I came from.”

The Witch of the North seemed to think for a time, with her head bowed and her eyes upon the ground. Then she looked up and said, “I do not know where Kansas is, for I have never heard that country mentioned before. But tell me, is it a civilized country?”

“Oh, yes,”replied Dorothy.

“Then that accounts for it. In the civilized countries I believe there are no witches left, nor wizards, nor sorceresses, nor magicians. But, you see, the Land of Oz has never been civilized, for we are cut off from all the rest of the world. Therefore we still have witches and wizards amongst us.”

“Who are the wizards?”asked Dorothy.

“Oz himself is the Great Wizard,”answered the Witch, sinking her voice to a whisper. “He is more powerful than all the rest of us together. He lives in the City of Emeralds.”

Dorothy was going to ask another question, but just then the Munchkins, who had been standing silently by, gave a loud shout and pointed to the corner of the house where the Wicked Witch had been lying.

“What is it?”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.

多蘿西被震醒了，這次震動震得又猛又狠，要不是她躺在柔軟的床上，也許就會受傷。實際上，這次震動使她屏住了呼吸，因為她不知道發生了什么事兒。透透把冰冷的小鼻子伸到她的臉上，低聲哀叫。

多蘿西坐起來，注意到房子不動了，天也不黑了，因為明亮的陽光照進了窗戶，灑滿了小屋。她從床上跳出來，跑過去開門，透透緊跟在她后面。

小女孩驚叫一聲，環顧四周，看到奇妙的景象，眼睛越瞪越大。

龍卷風輕輕地——對龍卷風來說是這樣——把房子在那奇美之地的中央放了下來。只見這里到處都是一塊塊漂亮的綠地，還有長滿鮮艷甘果的參天大樹；四面八方都有一簇簇美麗的鮮花；身披罕見華羽的小鳥唱著歌，在樹林和矮樹叢中振翅而飛；不遠處有一條小溪，在綠岸間奔流閃亮，聲音潺潺。在小女孩聽來，這聲音非常悅耳，因為她在干燥的灰色大草原上已經住得太久了。

她站在那里，急切地望著這片奇異而美麗的景色時，注意到她一生從未見過的一群最奇特的人朝她走來。他們不像她常見的成人那樣高大；不過，他們也不是很小。事實上，他們大約和多蘿西一樣高，多蘿西那樣的年齡長得非常成熟，只不過從外表看，他們的年齡比她大得多。

三男一女，全都衣著古怪。男人們戴著圓帽，頭頂上聳起一英尺高的小尖尖兒，四邊掛著小鈴鐺，他們走動時，叮當作響，清脆悅耳。男人們的帽子呈藍色。女人的帽子呈白色，她穿著一件白色長袍，長袍打著褶從她肩上垂下來，上面閃耀著小星星，像鉆石一樣在陽光下閃閃發亮。男人們穿著藍色衣服，和他們的帽子色調一樣，他們穿著锃光凈亮的靴子，靴子上面帶著深深的藍色卷狀物。多蘿西想，這些男人和亨利叔的年齡差不多，因為其中兩個有絡腮胡。不過，那個小女人的年齡肯定要大得多，因為她的臉皺紋斑斑，頭發差不多都白了，走起路來也非常僵硬。

當這些人走近房子時，多蘿西正站在門口。他們停住腳步，耳語了一陣，好像不敢再向前走了。終于，小老太太走到多蘿西身邊，深鞠一躬，用甜美的聲音說道：“最高貴的女魔法師，歡迎你來到芒奇金人的地方。我們非常感謝你殺死了東方壞女巫，并把我們從奴役中解救出來?！?

聽了這番話，多蘿西驚訝不已。這個小老太太稱她為女魔法師，并說她殺死了東方壞女巫，這是什么意思呢？多蘿西是一個天真溫和的小女孩，被龍卷風從家里卷了好多英里遠，從來沒有殺過任何東西呀。

可是，小老太太顯然在盼望著她的回答；所以，多蘿西遲疑地說：“你真好，但一定是弄錯了。我沒有殺過任何東西。”

“不管怎樣，也是你的房子殺了她，”小老太太大笑著回答說，“是一碼事兒?？?！”她指著房子的角落繼續說道，“她的兩只腳還在從一塊木板下伸出來。”

多蘿西定睛一看，發出了一聲輕輕的驚叫。果真，就在房子架著大梁的角落下面伸出了兩只腳，腳上還穿著尖頭銀鞋。

“哎呀！好家伙！”多蘿西驚慌地緊握著雙手嚷道，“一定是房子倒在了她身上。我們到底怎么辦？”

“沒什么事兒要辦?！毙±咸届o地說。

“可她是誰呢？”多蘿西問。

“她正是我所說的東方壞女巫。”小老太太回答說，“她已經奴役芒奇金人好多年了，讓他們整日整夜為她賣命?，F在，他們都自由了，非常感謝你的幫忙?！?

“芒奇金人是誰？”多蘿西問道。

“他們是住在東方這塊土地上的人，這塊土地是由壞女巫統治的?！?

“你是芒奇金人嗎？”多蘿西問。

“不是，可我是他們的朋友，盡管我住在北方土地上。芒奇金人看見東方女巫死去，就派了一個飛毛腿給我報信。于是，我就馬上趕來了。我是北方女巫?！?

“噢，天哪！”多蘿西叫道，“你真是女巫嗎？”

“是的，真是，”小老太太回答說，“但我是好女巫，人們都愛我。我不像曾統治這里的壞女巫那樣強大，否則我早就讓這些人得到自由了。”

“可我還以為所有女巫都是壞的呢?！毙∨⒄f，面對真正的女巫，她還是有些害怕。

“噢，不，這是個大錯。在奧茲所有的地方，只有四個女巫。其中兩個是好女巫，她們住在北方和南方。我知道這是真的，因為我自己就是其中一個，絕不可能弄錯。住在東方和西方的那兩個的確是壞女巫；但現在，你已經殺死了其中一個，奧茲所有的地方只剩下一個壞女巫了——就是住在西方的那個?！?

“可是，”多蘿西想了想說，“埃姆嬸曾告訴過我，那些女巫都死了，好多年前就死了?！?

“埃姆嬸是誰？”小老太太問道。

“她是我的嬸嬸，住在堪薩斯州，我就是從那里來的?！?

北方女巫低下頭，眼睛看著地面，似乎想了一會兒，隨后抬頭說道：“我不知道堪薩斯州在哪里，因為我以前從來沒聽人提起過那個國家。不過，告訴我，那是個文明國家嗎？”

“噢，是的?！倍嗵}西回答說。

“那么，這就是其中的理由。在文明國家里，我相信沒有留下女巫，沒有留下男巫，沒有留下女魔法師，也沒有留下男魔法師?？墒牵忝靼?，奧茲國從來沒有過文明，因為我們和世界上其他所有的地方都隔得很遠。所以，我們中間還有女巫和男巫。”

“男巫是誰？”多蘿西問。

“奧茲本人就是個男巫，”女巫壓低聲音回答說，“他比我們幾個合在一起還要強大。他住在翡翠城。”

多蘿西正要問另一個問題，但那些一直默立在旁邊的芒奇金人突然大聲喊叫起來，指著屋角壞女巫一直躺著的地方。

“什么事兒？”小老太太問，然后定睛一看，笑了起來。死女巫的那雙腳已經完全不見了，只留下了一雙銀鞋。

“她太老了，”北方女巫解釋說，“她在太陽底下很快就干枯了。這就是她的下場。不過，那雙銀鞋是你的了，你把它們穿上吧?！?

她彎腰拿起那雙鞋，拂去灰塵后，遞給了多蘿西。

“東方女巫曾對那雙銀鞋非常自豪，”其中一個芒奇金人說，“它們和某種魔力有關系。不過，我們從來不知道是什么關系。”

多蘿西將那雙鞋帶進屋里，放在桌子上，隨后又走出來，對芒奇金人說：“我渴望回到嬸嬸和叔叔身邊，因為我敢肯定他們一定會擔心我。你們能幫我找到路嗎？”

芒奇金人和女巫起先互相看了看，隨后又瞧了瞧多蘿西，搖了搖頭。

“東方離這里不遠，”一個芒奇金人說，“有一片大沙漠，沒有人能活著穿過去?！?

“南方也一樣，”另一個芒奇金人說，“因為我曾到過那里，親眼見過。南方是夸德林人的國家?！?

“有人告訴我，”第三個芒奇金人說，“西方也一樣。那個國家住的是溫基人，由西方壞女巫統治，如果你經過她那里，她就會讓你當奴隸?！?

“北方是我的家，”老太太說，“在這個奧茲國周圍邊界那邊也是大沙漠。我想，我的寶貝，你必須和我們生活在一起。”

聽到這話，多蘿西嗚嗚哭了起來，因為在這些奇怪的人中她感到非常孤獨。她的眼淚好像使仁慈的芒奇金人傷心起來，因為他們拿出手帕，也哭了起來。那個小老太太則脫下帽子，將它頂在鼻尖上，聲音嚴肅地數著：“一、二、三?！泵弊恿⒖套兂闪艘粔K石板，上面寫著大大的白粉筆字：

“讓多蘿西到翡翠城去”

小老太太從鼻子上拿下石板，讀過上面這些字后，問道：“你是叫多蘿西嗎，我的寶貝？”

“是的，”小女孩抬起頭，擦干眼淚，回答說。

“那你必須到翡翠城去，也許奧茲會幫助你?！?

“這個城在哪里？”多蘿西問。

“在國家正中心，由大男巫奧茲統治，我告訴過你?！?

“他是好人嗎？”小女孩不安地問道。

“他是好男巫，然而他是不是一個人，我說不清，因為我從來沒有見過他。”

“我怎么才能到那里呢？”多蘿西問。

“你必須走路去。那是一段漫長的旅程，需要穿過一個國家，有時令人愉快，有時會讓人感到黑暗可怕。不過，我會用我知道的所有魔法，使你免受傷害?！?

“你不跟我一塊兒去嗎？”小女孩懇求道，她已經開始把小老太太當成了她唯一的朋友。

“不，我不能那樣做，”她回答說，“不過，我會送給你吻，沒有人敢傷害被北方女巫吻過的人?！?

她走近多蘿西，輕輕地在她的前額上吻了一下。過了一會兒，多蘿西才發現，她的嘴唇在她的額頭上留下了一個又圓又亮的標記。

“到翡翠城去的路是用黃磚鋪的，”女巫說，“所以，你不會迷路。你到達奧茲那里時，不要怕他，但要把你的故事告訴他，請他幫你。再見，我的寶貝?！?

三個芒奇金人也向她深鞠一躬，祝她旅途愉快。說完，他們穿林而去。女巫向多蘿西友好地微微點了點頭，左腳跟旋轉了三次，轉眼就不見了。小透透大吃一驚，女巫離開后，它還在她后面大聲吠叫，因為她站在旁邊時，它甚至連吠也不敢吠一聲。

可是，因為多蘿西知道她是女巫，料想她就會那樣消失，所以一點兒也不吃驚。