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The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Chapter 15. The Discovery of Oz, the Terrible
The four travelers walked up to the great gate of Emerald City and rang the bell.
After ringing several times, the same Guardian of the Gates they had met before opened it.
"What! are you back again?" he asked, surprised.
"Do you not see us?" answered the Scarecrow.
"But I thought you had gone to visit the Wicked Witch of the West."
"We did visit her," said the Scarecrow.
"And she let you go again?" asked the man, amazed.
"She couldn't help it, for she's melted," explained the Scarecrow.
"Melted! Well, that's good news, indeed," said the man.
"Who melted her?"
"It was Dorothy," said the Lion gravely.
"Good gracious!" said the man, and he bowed very low before her.
Then he led them into his room and put the green glasses from the box on their eyes as before.
Afterward they passed on through the gate into the Emerald City.
The people heard from the Guardian of the Gates that Dorothy had melted the Wicked Witch of the West.
They all met the travelers and followed them in a great crowd to the Palace of Oz.
The soldier with the green whiskers was still on guard before the door, but he let them in at once.
They were met again by the beautiful green girl.
She took them to their old rooms so they could rest until the Great Oz could see them.
The soldier sent the news straight to Oz that Dorothy and the other travelers had come back again after destroying the Wicked Witch.
Oz gave no answer, they thought the Great Wizard would call them at once, but he didn't.
They had no word from him the next day, or the next, or the next.
The waiting was boring, and they grew angry that Oz treated them poorly after sending them to suffer and work.
So the Scarecrow asked the green girl to take another message to Oz.
He said if Oz did not let them see him at once, they would call the Winged Monkeys.
They would then learn if he kept his promises or not.
When the Wizard got this message he was so afraid.
He sent word for them to come to the Throne Room at four minutes after nine o'clock the next morning.
He had once met the Winged Monkeys in the Land of the West.
And he didn't want to meet them again.
The four travelers had a sleepless night, each thinking of the gift Oz had promised to give him.
Dorothy slept only once.
She dreamed she was in Kansas, where Aunt Em told her she was glad her little girl was home.
Nine o'clock next morning green-whiskered soldier came, four minutes later they entered the Throne Room of the Great Oz.
Each of them expected to see the Wizard in the shape he had taken before.
They were very surprised when they looked around and saw no one in the room.
They stayed near the door and even closer together.
The quiet empty room was more frightening than any shape Oz had shown them.
Soon they heard a deep Voice that seemed to come from near the top of the great dome, and it said,
"I'm Oz, the Great and Terrible. Why do you seek me?"
They looked in every part of the room, and then, seeing no one, Dorothy asked, "Where are you?"
"I'm everywhere," answered the Voice.
"But to the eyes of common people I'm invisible."
"I'll now sit upon my throne, so you may speak with me."
Indeed, the Voice seemed then to come from the throne, so they walked toward it and stood in a row while Dorothy said.
"We have come to claim our promise, O Oz."
"What promise?" asked Oz.
"You promised to send me back to Kansas when the Wicked Witch was destroyed," said the girl.
"And you promised to give me brains," said the Scarecrow.
"And you promised to give me a heart," said the Tin Woodman.
"And you promised to give me courage," said the Cowardly Lion.
"Is the Wicked Witch really destroyed?" asked the Voice, and Dorothy thought it shook a little.
"Yes," she answered, "I melted her with a bucket of water."
"Dear me," said the Voice, "how sudden! Well, come to me tomorrow, for I must have time to think it over."
"You've had plenty of time already," said the Tin Woodman angrily.
"We won't wait a day longer," said the Scarecrow.
"You must keep your promises to us!" cried Dorothy.
The Lion thought it might frighten the Wizard, so he gave a large loud roar.
The roar was so fierce that Toto jumped away from him in fear and knocked over the screen that stood in a corner.
As it fell with a crash they looked that way, and the next moment all of them were full of wonder.
They saw a little old man standing where the screen had been, with a bald head and a wrinkled face.
He looked as surprised as they were.
The Tin Woodman, raising his axe, rushed toward the little man and cried, "Who are you?"
"I'm Oz, the Great and Terrible," said the little man, in a shaking voice.
"But don't strike me please, and I'll do anything you want me to."
Our friends looked at him with surprise and fear.
"I thought Oz was a great Head," said Dorothy.
"And I thought Oz was a lovely Lady," said the Scarecrow.
"And I thought Oz was a terrible Beast," said the Tin Woodman.
"And I thought Oz was a Ball of Fire," cried the Lion.
"No, you're all wrong," said the little man quietly.
"I have been making believe."
"Making believe!" cried Dorothy.
"Are you not a Great Wizard?"
"Hush, my dear," he said.
"Don't speak so loud, or you'll be heard, and I shall be ruined. I'm supposed to be a Great Wizard."
"And aren't you?" she asked.
"Not at all, my dear. I'm just a common man."
"You're more than that," said the Scarecrow, sadly.
"You're a humbug."
"Exactly so!" said the little man, rubbing his hands as if it pleased him.
"I'm a humbug."
"But this is terrible," said the Tin Woodman.
"How shall I ever get my heart?"
"Or I my courage?" asked the Lion.
"Or I my brains?" cried the Scarecrow, wiping tears from his eyes with his coat sleeve.
"My dear friends," said Oz.
"I beg you not to speak of these little things. Think of me, and the great trouble I'm in at being found out."
"Does no one else know you're a humbug?" asked Dorothy.
"No one knows it but you four and myself," answered Oz.
"I have fooled everyone so long that I thought I'd never be found out."
"It was a big mistake to let you into the Throne Room."
"I usually won't see even my subjects, and so they believe I'm something terrible."
"But, I don't understand," said Dorothy, confused.
"How was it that you appeared to me as a great Head?"
"That was one of my tricks," answered Oz.
"Step this way please, and I'll tell you all about it."
He led them to a small room in the back of the Throne Room, and they all followed him.
He pointed to one corner, in which lay the great Head, made of many layers of paper, with a painted face.
"This I hung from the ceiling by a wire," said Oz.
"I stood behind the screen and pulled a thread to make the eyes move and the mouth open."
"But how about the voice?" she asked.
"Oh, I'm a ventriloquist," said the little man.
"I can throw the sound of my voice where I wish, so you thought it was coming from the Head."
"Here are the other things I used to trick you."
He showed the Scarecrow the dress and the mask he had worn when he seemed to be the lovely Lady.
And the Tin Woodman saw that the Beast was skins sewn together with sticks to hold them out.
As for the Ball of Fire, the false Wizard had hung that also from the ceiling.
It was really a ball of cotton, but when oil was put on it the ball burned fiercely.
"Really," said the Scarecrow, "you should be ashamed for being such a humbug."
"I'm, I certainly am," answered the little man sadly.
"But it was the only thing I could do. Sit down please, there are plenty of chairs, and I'll tell you my story."
So they sat down and listened while he told the following tale.
"I was born in Omaha, "
"Why, that isn't very far from Kansas!" cried Dorothy.
"No, but it's farther from here," he said, shaking his head sadly.
"When I grew up I became a ventriloquist, and I was well trained by a great master."
"I can copy any kind of bird or beast."
Here he mewed so like a kitten that Toto pricked up his ears and looked everywhere to see the cat.
"After some time," continued Oz, "I grew tired of that, and became a balloonist."
"What's that?" asked Dorothy.
A man who goes up in a balloon at the circus to make people pay to see the show, he explained.
"Oh," she said, "I know."
"Well, one day I went up in a balloon and the ropes got twisted so I couldn't come down again".
It went up above the clouds, so far that a strong wind struck it and carried it many miles away.
For a day and a night I traveled through the air.
On the second morning I woke and found the balloon over a strange, beautiful country.
"It came down slowly, and I wasn't hurt".
But I found myself among a strange people who, seeing me come from the clouds, thought I was a great Wizard.
Of course I let them think so, because they were afraid of me, and promised to do anything I wished.
"To amuse myself, and keep the people busy, I ordered them to build this City and my Palace,"
"And they did it all willingly and well."
"Then I thought, as the country was so green and beautiful, I'd call it the Emerald City."
"And to make the name fit better I put green glasses on all the people, so everything they saw looked green."
"But isn't everything here green?" asked Dorothy.
"No more than in any other city," answered Oz, "but when you wear green glasses, of course everything you see looks green".
Emerald City was built long ago, the balloon brought me here when I was young, and now I am old.
But my people have worn green glasses so long that most of them think it really is an Emerald City.
It's a beautiful place, full of jewels and metals and every good thing that can make one happy.
I have been kind to the people.
And they like me, but after this Palace was built I shut myself up and didn't see them.
"One of my greatest fears was the Witches, for while I had no magic I soon learned that the Witches could do wonderful things".
There were four of them in this country.
And they ruled the people who live in the North and South and East and West.
Luckily, the Witches of the North and South were good, and I knew they wouldn't hurt me.
Witches of the East and West were wicked and would have destroyed me if they thought me powerful.
As it was, I lived in great fear of them for many years.
So you can see how glad I was when I heard your house had fallen on the Wicked Witch of the East.
When you came to me, I was willing to promise anything if you'd get rid of the other Witch.
But now that you have melted her, I'm ashamed to say I can't keep my promises.
"I think you're a very bad man," said Dorothy.
"Oh no, my dear, I'm really a very good man, but I'm a very bad Wizard, I must admit."
"Can't you give me brains?" asked the Scarecrow.
"You don't need them."
"You're learning every day."
"A baby has brains, but it doesn't know much."
"Experience is the only thing that brings knowledge, and the longer you're alive the more experience you'll get."
"That may be true," said the Scarecrow, "but I'll be very unhappy unless you give me brains."
The false Wizard looked at him carefully.
"Well," he said with a sigh.
"I'm not much of a magician, as I said".
If you come to me tomorrow morning, I'll put something in your head to make you feel as if you have brains.
" I can't tell you how to use them however, you must learn that yourself."
"Oh, thank you thank you!" cried the Scarecrow.
"I'll find a way to use them, never fear!"
"But how about my courage?" asked the Lion, worried.
"You have plenty of courage, I'm sure," answered Oz.
"All you need is belief in yourself."
"There's no living thing that isn't afraid when it faces danger."
"True courage is in facing danger when you're afraid, and you have that kind of courage."
"Perhaps I have, but I'm scared all the same," said the Lion.
"I'll be very unhappy unless you give me the kind of courage that makes one forget he's afraid."
"Very well, I'll give you that kind of courage tomorrow," replied Oz.
"How about my heart?" asked the Tin Woodman.
"Why, as for that," answered Oz.
"I think you're wrong to want a heart."
"It makes most people unhappy."
"If you only knew it, you're lucky not to have a heart."
"That must be a matter of opinion," said the Tin Woodman.
"For my part, I'll bear all the unhappiness without a word, if you give me the heart."
"Very well," answered Oz quietly.
"Come to me tomorrow and you shall have a heart."
"I have played the Wizard for many years and I may as well stay the part a little longer."
"And now," said Dorothy, "how am I to get back to Kansas?"
"We shall have to think about that," answered the little man.
"Give me two or three days to consider the matter and I'll try to find a way to carry you over the desert."
"In the meantime you shall all be my guests, and while you live in the Palace my people will serve you and obey your smallest wish."
"There's only one thing I ask in return for my help, such as it's."
"You must keep my secret and tell no one I'm a humbug."
They agreed to say nothing of what they had learned, and went back to their rooms in high spirits.
Even Dorothy had hope that "The Great and Terrible Humbug,"
Dorothy hoped "The Great and Terrible Humbug," as she called him, would send her to Kansas, then she'd forgive him.