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20 - The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - L Frank Baum · Adventure Books Library

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  Chapter twenty, The Dainty China Country. While the woodman was making a ladder
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  from wood which he found in the forest, Dorothy lay down and slept,
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  for she was tired by the long walk. The lion also curled himself up
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  to sleep, and Toto laid beside him. The scarecrow watched the woodman while
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  he worked and said to him, I cannot think of why this wall is
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  here, nor what it is made of. Rest your brains and do not
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  worry about the wall, replied the woodman. When we have climbed over it,
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  we shall know what's on the other side. After a time, the
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  ladder was finished. It looked clumsy, but the tin woodman was sure it
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  was strong and would answer their purpose. The scarecrow waked Dorothy and the lion
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  and Toto and told them that the ladder was ready. The scarecrow climbed up
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  the ladder first, but he was so awkward that Dorothy had to follow close
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  behind and keep him from falling off. When he got his head over the
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  top of the wall, the scare crow said, oh my, go on,
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  exclaimed Dorothy. So the scarecrow climbed further up and sat down on the
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  top of the wall, and Dorothy put her head over and cried, oh
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  my, just as the scarecrow had done. Then Toto came up and immediately
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  began to bark, but Dorothy made him be still. The lion climbed the
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  ladder next, and the tin woodman came last, but both of them cried
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  oh my as soon as they looked over the wall. When they were all
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  sitting in a row on the top of the wall, they looked down and
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  saw a strange sight. Before them was a great stretch of country, having
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  a floor as smooth and shining and white as the bottom of a big platter.
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  Scattered around were many houses made entirely of china and painted in the brightest
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  colors. These houses were quite small, the biggest of them reaching only as
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  high as Dorothy's waist. There were also pretty little barns with china fences around
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  them, and many cows and sheep, and horses and pigs and chickens,
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  all made of china, were standing about in groups. But the strangest of
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  all were the people who lived in this queer country. There were milkmaids and
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  shepherdesses with brightly colored bodices and golden spots, all over their gowns, and
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  princesses with most gorgeous frocks of silver and gold and purple, and shepherds dressed
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  in knee breeches with pink and yellow and blue stripes down them, and golden
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  buckles on their shoes, and princes with jeweled crowns upon their heads wearing earmine
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  robes and satin doublets, and funny clowns in ruffled gowns with round red spots
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  upon their cheeks and tall pointed caps. And strangest of all, these people
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  were all made of china, even to their clothes, and were so small
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  that the tallest of them was no higher than Dorothy's knee. No one did
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  so much as look at the travelers at first, except one little purple china
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  dog with an extra large head, which came to the wall and barked at
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  them in a tiny voice, afterwards running away again. How shall we get
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  down, asked Dorothy. They found the ladder so heavy that they could not
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  pull it up, so the scarecrow fell off the wall, and the others
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  jumped down upon him so that the hard floor would not hurt their feet.
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  Of course, they took pains not to light on his head and get the
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  pins in their feet. When all were safely down, they picked up the
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  scarecrow, whose body was quite flattened out, and patted his straw into shape
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  again. We must cross this strange place in order to get to the other
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  side, said Dorothy, for it would be unwise for us to go any
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  other way except due south. They begin walking through the country of the China
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  people, and the first thing they came to was a China milkmaid milking a
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  China cow. As they drew near, the cow suddenly gave a kick and
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  kicked over the stool. The pail, and even the milk made herself and
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  all fell on the China ground with a great clatter. Dorothy was shocked to
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  see that the cow had broken her leg off, and that the pail was
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  lying in several small pieces, while the poor milkmaid had a nick in her
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  left elbow. There, cried the milkmaid angrily. See what you have done.
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  My cow has broken her leg and I must take her to the mender's
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  shop and have it glued on again. What do you mean by coming here
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  and frightening my cow? I'm very sorry, returned Dorothy. Please forgive us,
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  but The pretty milkmaid was much too vexed to make any answer. She
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  picked up the legs sulkily and led her cow away, the poor animal limping
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  on three legs as she left them. The milkmaid cast many reproachful glances over
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  her shoulder at the clumsy strangers, holding her nicked elbow close to her side.
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  Dorothy was quite grieved at this mishap. We must be very careful here,
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  said the kind hearted woodman, or we may hurt these pretty little peace
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  both so they will never get over it. A little farther on, Dorothy
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  met a beautifully dressed young princess who stopped short as she saw the strangers and
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  started to run away. Dorothy wanted to see more of the princess, so
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  she ran after her, but the China girl cried out, don't chase me,
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  don't chase me. She had such a frightened little voice that Dorothy stopped
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  and said, why not, because, answered the princess, also stopping a
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  safe distance away. If I run, I may fall down and break myself.
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  But could you not be mended? Asked the girl. Oh yes,
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  but one is never so pretty after being mended, you know, replied the
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  princess, I suppose not, said Dorothy. Now there is mister Joker,
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  one of our clowns, continued the China lady, who is always trying to
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  stand upon his head. He has broken himself so often that he is mended
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  in a hundred places, and doesn't look at all pretty. Here he comes
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  now, so you can see for yourself. Indeed, a jolly little clown
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  came walking toward them, and Dorothy could see that, in spite of his
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  pretty clothes of red and yellow and green, he was completely covered with cracks
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  running every which way, and showing plainly that he had been mended in many
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  places. The clown put his hands in his pockets, and, after puffing
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  out his cheeks and nodding his head at them saucily, he said, my
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  lady, fair, why do you stare at poor old mister Joker. You're
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  quite as stiff and prim as if you'd eaten up a poker. Be quiet,
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  sir, said the princess. Can't you see these are strangers and should
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  be treated with respect. Well, that's respect, I expect, declared the
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  clown, and immediately stood upon his head. Don't mind, mister Joker,
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  said the princess to Dorothy, he is considerably cracked in his head, and
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  that makes him foolish. Oh, I don't mind him a bit, said
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  Dorothy. But you are so beautiful. She continued that I am sure I
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  could love you dearly. Won't you let me carry you back to Kansas and
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  stand you on aunt EM's mantle. I could carry you in my basket.
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  That would make me very unhappy, answered the China princess. You see,
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  here in our country we live contentedly and can talk and move around as we
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  please. But whenever any of us are taken away, our joints at once
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  stiffen, and we can only stand straight and look pretty. Of course,
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  that is all that is expected of us when we are on mantles and cabinets
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  and drawing room tables. But our lives are much pleasanter here in our own
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  country. I would not make you unhappy for all the world, exclaimed Dorothy.
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  So I'll just say goodbye. Goodbye, replied the princess. They walked
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  carefully through the China country. The little animals and all the people scampered out
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  of their way, fearing the strangers would break them, and after an hour
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  or so, the travelers reached the other side of the country and came to
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  another China wall. It was not so high as the first, however,
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  and by standing upon the lion's back, they all managed to scramble to the
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  top. Then the lion gathered his legs under him and jumped on the wall.
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  But just as he jumped, he upset a China church with his tail
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  and smashed it all to pieces. That was too bad, said Dorothy,
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  But really I think we were lucky in not doing these little people more harm
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  than breaking a cow's leg in a church. They are all so brittle.
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  They are, indeed, said the scarecrow, and I am thankful. I
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  am made of straw and cannot be easily damaged. There are worse things in
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  the world than being a scarecrow. End of Chapter twenty