Calico Illustrated Classics: Wonderful Wizard of Oz
trapdoor in the fl oor and climbed into the dark hole Dorothy grabbed Toto and ran after her Suddenly a great shriek came from the wind and the house shook throwing Dorothy to the fl oor Then a strange thing happened The house whirled and rose in the air into the exact center of the cyclone It took the house higher and higher until it was at the top and carried the house miles away It was dark and the wind howled horribly As the house settled in the tornado Dorothy felt as if she were being rocked gently Toto ran around the room and barked Dorothy waited to see what would happen Hours passed Dorothy felt lonely and the wind was so loud it hurt her ears After hours more she crawled to her bed and lay down Toto lay down beside her As the house swayed and the wind howled Dorothy closed her eyes and fell asleep 6
2 The Munchkins and the Witches If Dorothy hadn’t been on the bed the strong shock that woke her might have hurt her Instead it made her catch her breath Toto whined The house had stopped moving and it wasn’t dark Bright sunshine came in the window Dorothy jumped up and opened the door Oh my she cried as she looked at the wonderful sights The cyclone had set the house down gently in a beautiful country Green grass was everywhere and tall trees full of fruit were surrounded by fl owers Bright birds sang in the trees A small stream rushed along green banks 7
As Dorothy looked at the beautiful sights a group of the strangest people she’d ever seen came toward her They were about as tall as her but many years older Three men and one woman came all oddly dressed Their round hats were pointed and had little bells that rang sweetly The woman wore a white hat and gown full of little stars that glistened in the sun Dorothy decided the men were about as old as Uncle Henry The woman had to be much older Her face was covered with wrinkles and her hair was almost white The woman walked up to Dorothy and bowed You are welcome great Sorceress to the land of the Munchkins We thank you for killing the Wicked Witch of the East and freeing us from her slavery Dorothy did not understand what she was talking about She wasn’t a sorceress and had never killed anything Dorothy said There must be a mistake 9
