THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ
Contents
--Introduction--
2.The Council with the Munchkins
3. How Dorothy Saved the Scarecrow
4. The Road Through the Forest
5. The Rescue of the Tin Woodman
7. The Journey to the Great Oz
9. The Queen of the Field Mice
12. The Search for the Wicked Witch
15. The Discovery of Oz the Terrible
16. The Magic Art of the Great Humbug
17. How the Balloon Was Launched
19. Attacked by the Fighting Trees
21. The Lion Becomes the King of Beasts
22. The Country of the Quadlings
23. Glinda The Good Witch Grants Dorothy's Wish
Introduction
Folklore, legends, myths and fairy tales have followed childhood through the ages, for every healthy youngster has a wholesome and instinctive love for stories fantastic, marvelous and manifestly unreal. The winged fairies of Grimm and Andersen have brought more happiness to childish hearts than all other human creations.
Yet the old time fairy tale, having served for generations, may now be classed as "historical" in the children's library; for the time has come for a series of newer "wonder tales" in which the stereotyped genie, dwarf and fairy are eliminated, together with all the horrible and blood-curdling incidents devised by their authors to point a fearsome moral to each tale. Modern education includes morality; therefore the modern child seeks only entertainment in its wonder tales and gladly dispenses with all disagreeable incident.
Having this thought in mind, the story of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" was written solely to please children of today. It aspires to being a modernized fairy tale, in which the wonderment and joy are retained and the heartaches and nightmares are left out.
Chicago, April, 1900.
Introduction as By Margaret B. Hamilton
"There's no place like home."
Those were the magic words Dorothy repeated over and over to escape the mystical, offtimes terrifiying Land of Oz back to Kansas.
More importantly, that was ever so simple truth author L. Frank Baum used to reach out and touch the hearts of readers and play audiences in the early 20th century, then movie goers in the 1940's and finally generations of television viewers from the 1950's on. Home is very, very special to us all. Especially a childhood home like Dorothy's. It means love and safety and comfort and pets and backyards and Mom. Wherever we go in life, whenever we run into troubles - as did Dorothy - we instinctively think of home and long to escape there.
That is the message of the Wizard of Oz . That is what makes it so endearing a story to us all.
I think it is significant that when the Wizard first came out as a movie in 1939, both critics and audiences gave it passing but not overly enthusiastic marks. It was not until the 1950's, when the film began to be seen on television that Oz caught on. I think that is because it was being seen in the home. Families gathered. Curtains were drawn. Children snuggled down in parent's laps. Grandparents thought of days long ago. Popcorn and cookies were passed. Dogs curled up under foot. The world, with all its troubles, was shut out for a brief hour or so. Dorothy ran away from home, couldn't get back, was whisked off to Oz, made friends, truimphed against evil, was betrayed then despaired that home was lost forever. Suddenly, Glinda, the Good Witch of the South, sends her home with those 5 precious words: "There's no place like home."
Who can keep a dry eye, whether 3 or 93?
Wise men tell us we can't go home. But, Dorothy did. And, she did it for all of us. That's why Oz is so special ... and will remain so as long as man is born and reared in a home.