The Wizard of OZ

The sorceress always reads her record book every day, and so it was she knew that Anne Soforth, Queen of Oogaboo, had foolishly assembled an army of sixteen officers and one private soldier with which she intended to invade and conquer the land of Oz.

There was no danger but that Ozma, supported by the magic arts of Glinda the Good and the powerful Wizard of Oz, both her firm friends, could easily defeat a far more imposing army than Anne's, but it would be a shame to have the peace of Oz interrupted by any sort of quarreling or fighting.

So Glinda did not even mention the matter to Ozma or to anyone else.

She merely went into a great chamber of her castle known as the Magic Room, where she performed a magical ceremony which caused the mountain pass that led from Oogaboo to make several turns and twists.

I wish—oh, how earnestly I wish—that I was back there this minute!" "So do I!" yelled every officer in a fervent tone.

Now it is time for the reader to know that in the far-away Land of Oz the lovely Ruler Ozma has been following the adventures of her Shaggy Man and Tik-Tok and all the others they had met.

Day by day Ozma, with the wonderful Wizard of Oz seated beside her, had gazed upon a magic picture in a radium frame which occupied one side of the Ruler's cozy boudoir in the palace of the Emerald City.

The singular thing about this magic picture was that it showed whatever scene Ozma wished to see, with the figures all in action just as it was taking place.

It is L. Frank Baum.

The book was The Wonderful Wizard of Oz-

Yeah

... which of course pits a good witch-

They read all of Enid Blyton.

They read all of, you know, Secret Seven, all of Wizard of Oz, whatever.

But as you go through that, you start to get, this is getting a little samey.

I'm a little bit over this.

But in my head, as you're talking about the Garden of Eden, that makes me immediately think of...

The Wizard of Oz.

Oh, absolutely.

Like the book.

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Section 0 of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

This is a LibriVox recording.

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For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Read by Val Roth.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.

Introduction.

Folklore, legends, myths, and fairy tales have followed children through the ages.

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.

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.

I was only made day before yesterday.

What happened in the world before that time is all unknown to me.

Luckily, when the farmer made my head, one of the first things he did was to paint my ears so that I heard what was going on.