Hello there,
It's Mandy here.
Thanks for joining me tonight and welcome back to The Wizard of Oz by L.
Frank Baum.
Baum had often been asked whether his Oz books contained political references.
His newspaper was a political one and Denslow,
His illustrator,
Was an editorial cartoonist as well as an illustrator of children's books.
The political references were definitely there in the 1902 stage version,
Such as references to the president,
To a powerful senator and also to John D Rockefeller for providing the oil needed by the Tin Woodmen.
When Baum himself was asked whether his stories had hidden meanings,
He always replied that they were written to please children.
So we've reached chapters 16 and 17 tonight,
The Magic Art of the Great Humbug.
But before I go ahead,
Please make yourself really comfortable.
Settle down into your chair or your bed,
Relax your hands,
Soften your shoulders and release any tension in your jaw.
That's great.
If you're ready,
Then I shall begin.
Next morning,
The scarecrow said to his friends,
Congratulate me,
I am going to Oz to get my brains at last.
When I return,
I shall be as other men are.
I've always liked you as you were,
Said Dorothy simply.
It is kind of you to like a scarecrow,
He replied,
But surely you will think more of me when you hear the splendid thoughts that my new brain is going to turn out.
Then he said goodbye to them all in a cheerful voice and went to the throne room.
Come in,
Said Oz.
The scarecrow found the little man sitting by the window engaged in deep thought.
I have come for my brains,
Remarked the scarecrow uneasily.
Oh yes,
Sit down in that chair,
Please,
Replied Oz.
You must excuse me for taking your head off,
But I shall have to do it in order to put your brains in their proper place.
That's all right,
Said the scarecrow.
You're quite welcome to take my head off,
As long as it will be a better one when you put it on again.
So the wizard unfastened his head and emptied out the straw.
Then he entered the back room and took a measure of bran,
Which he mixed with a great many pins and needles.
Having shaken them together thoroughly,
He filled the top of the scarecrow's head with the mixture and stuffed the rest of the space with straw to hold it in place.
When he had fastened the scarecrow's head on his body again,
He said,
Hereafter you will be a great man,
For I have given you a lot of brand new brains.
The scarecrow was both pleased and proud at the fulfilment of his greatest wish,
And having thanked Oz warmly,
He went back to his friends.
Dorothy looked at him curiously.
His head was quite bulged out at the top with brains.
How do you feel?
She asked.
I feel wise indeed,
He answered earnestly.
When I get used to my brains,
I shall know everything.
Why are those needles and pins sticking out of your head?
Asked the tin woodman.
That is proof that he is sharp,
Remarked the lion.
Well,
I must go to Oz and get my heart,
Said the woodman.
So he walked to the throne room and knocked at the door.
Come in,
Called Oz,
And the woodman entered and said,
I have come for my heart.
Very well,
Answered the little man,
But I shall have to cut a hole in your breast so I can put your heart in the right place.
I hope it won't hurt you.
Oh no,
Answered the woodman,
I shall not feel it at all.
So Oz brought a pair of tinners shears and cut a small square hole in the left side of the tin woodman's breast.
Then going to a chest of drawers,
He took out a pretty heart made entirely of silk and stuffed with sawdust.
Isn't it a beauty,
He asked.
It is indeed,
Replied the woodman,
Who was greatly pleased.
But is it a kind heart?
Oh,
Very,
Answered Oz.
He put the heart in the woodman's breast and then replaced the square of tin,
Soldering it neatly together where it had been cut.
There,
Said he,
Now you have a heart that any man can be proud of.
I'm sorry I had to patch your breast,
But it couldn't be helped.
Never mind,
Exclaimed the happy woodman.
I'm very grateful to you and shall never forget your kindness.
Don't speak of it,
Replied Oz.
Then the tin woodman went back to his friends who wished him every joy on account of his good fortune.
The lion now walked to the throne room.
Come in,
Said Oz.
I have come for my courage,
Announced the lion.
Very well,
Answered the little man,
I will get it for you.
He went to a cupboard and reaching up to a high shelf,
Took down a square green bottle,
The contents of which he poured into a green gold dish,
Beautifully carved.
Placing this before the cowardly lion,
Who sniffed at it as if he didn't like it,
The wizard said,
Drink.
What is it?
Asked the lion.
Well,
Answered Oz,
If it were inside of you,
It would be courage.
You know,
Of course,
That courage is always inside one.
So this can really not be called courage until you have swallowed it.
Therefore,
I advise you to drink it as soon as possible.
The lion hesitated no longer,
But drank until the dish was empty.
How do you feel now?
Asked Oz.
Full of courage,
Replied the lion,
And went joyfully back to his friends to tell them of his good fortune.
Oz left to himself,
Smiled to think of his success in giving the scarecrow and the tin woodman and the lion exactly what they thought they wanted.
How can I help being a humbug?
He said,
When all these people make me do things that everybody knows can't be done.
It was easy to make the scarecrow and the lion and the woodman happy,
Because they imagined I could do anything.
But it will take more imagination to carry Dorothy back to Kansas,
And I'm sure I don't know how that can be done.
For three days,
Dorothy heard nothing from Oz.
These were sad days for the little girl,
Although her friends were all quite happy and contented.
The scarecrow told her there were wonderful thoughts in his head,
But he wouldn't say what they were,
Because he knew no one could understand them but himself.
When the tin woodman walked about,
He felt his heart rattling around in his breast,
And he told Dorothy he discovered it to be a kinder and more tender heart than the one he'd owned when he was made of flesh.
The lion declared he was afraid of nothing on earth,
And would gladly face an army or a dozen of the fierce Kalidars.
Thus,
Each of the little party was satisfied,
Except Dorothy,
Who longed more than ever to get back to Kansas.
On the fourth day,
To her great joy,
Oz sent for her,
And when she entered the throne room,
He said,
Sit down,
My dear.
I think I have found the way to get you out of this country.
And back to Kansas?
She asked eagerly.
Well,
I'm not sure about Kansas,
Said Oz,
But I haven't the faintest notion which way it lies.
But the first thing to do is to cross the desert,
And then it should be easy to find your way home.
How can I cross the desert?
She inquired.
Well,
I'll tell you what I think,
Said the little man.
You see,
When I came to this country,
It was in a balloon.
You also came through the air,
Carried by a cyclone,
So I believe the best way to get across the desert will be through the air.
Now,
It's beyond my powers to make a cyclone,
But I believe I can make a balloon.
How?
Asked Dorothy.
A balloon,
Said Oz,
Is made of silk,
Which is coated with glue to keep the gas in it.
I have plenty of silk in the palace,
So it will be no trouble to make the balloon.
But in all this country,
There is no gas to fill the balloon with to make it float.
If it won't float,
Remarked Dorothy,
It will be of no use to us.
True,
Answered Oz,
But there is another way to make it float,
Which is to fill it with hot air.
Hot air isn't as good as gas,
For if the air should get cold,
The balloon would come down in the desert,
And we should be lost.
We,
Exclaimed the girl,
Are you going with me?
Yes,
Of course,
Replied Oz.
I'm tired of being such a humbug.
If I should go out of this palace,
My people would soon discover I am not a wizard,
And then they would be vexed with me for having deceived them.
So I have to stay shut up in these rooms all day,
And it gets tiresome.
I'd much rather go back to Kansas with you,
And be in the circus again.
I shall be glad to have your company,
Said Dorothy.
Thank you,
He answered.
Now,
If you will help me sew silk together,
We will begin to work on our balloon.
So Dorothy took a needle and thread,
And as fast as Oz cut the strips of silk,
The girl sewed them together.
First there was a strip of light green silk,
Then a strip of dark green,
And then a strip of emerald green.
But Oz had a fancy to make the balloon in different shades of the colour all around them.
It took three days to sew all the strips together,
But when it was finished,
They had a big bag of green silk,
More than 20 feet long.
Then Oz painted it on the inside with a coat of thin glue to make it airtight,
After which he announced that the balloon was ready.
But we must have a basket to ride in,
He said.
So he sent the soldier with the green whiskers for a big clothes basket,
Which he fastened with many ropes to the bottom of the balloon.
When it was all ready,
He sent word to his people that he was going to make a visit to a great brother wizard who lived in the clouds.
The news spread rapidly throughout the city,
And everyone came to see the wonderful sight.
Oz ordered the balloon to be carried out in front of the palace,
And the people gazed upon it with much curiosity.
The tinwoodman had chopped a big pile of wood,
And now he made a fire of it,
And Oz held the bottom of the balloon over the fire,
So that the hot air that arose from it would be caught in the silk and bag.
Gradually,
The balloon swelled out and rose into the air,
Until finally the basket just touched the ground.
Oz got into the basket and said to all the people,
I am now going to make a visit.
While I am gone,
The scarecrow will rule over you.
I command you to obey him as you would me.
The balloon was by this time tugging hard at the rope that held it to the ground,
For the air within it was hot,
And this made it so much lighter in weight than the air outside,
That it pulled hard to rise into the sky.
Come Dorothy,
Cried the wizard,
Hurry up or the balloon will fly away.
I can't find Toto anywhere,
Replied Dorothy,
Who didn't want to leave her little dog behind.
Toto had run into the crowd to bark at a kitten,
And Dorothy at last found him.
She picked him up and ran for the balloon.
She was within a few steps of it,
And Oz was holding out his hands to help her into the basket,
When crack went the ropes,
And the balloon rose into the air without her.
Come back,
She screamed,
I want to go too.
I can't come back my dear,
Called Oz from the basket.
Goodbye,
Goodbye,
Shouted everyone,
And all eyes were turned upward to where the wizard was riding in the basket,
Rising every moment further and further into the sky.
And that was the last any of them ever saw of Oz,
The wonderful wizard,
Though he may have reached Omaha safely and be there now,
For all we know.
But the people remembered him lovingly,
And said to one another,
Oz was always our friend.
When he was here,
He built for us this beautiful emerald city,
And now he is gone.
He has left the wise scarecrow to rule over us.
Still,
For many days,
They grieved over the loss of the wonderful wizard,
And would not be comforted.
To be continued.
You
