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

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  Speaker 1: Chapter twenty, The Dainty China Country. While the woodman was
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  Speaker 1: making a ladder from wood which he found in the forest,
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  Speaker 1: Dorothy lay down and slept, for she was tired by
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  Speaker 1: the long walk. The lion also curled himself up to sleep,
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  Speaker 1: and Toto laid beside him. The scarecrow watched the woodman
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  Speaker 1: while he worked and said to him, I cannot think
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  Speaker 1: of why this wall is here, nor what it is
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  Speaker 1: made of. Rest your brains and do not worry about
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  Speaker 1: the wall, replied the woodman. When we have climbed over it,
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  Speaker 1: we shall know what's on the other side. After a time,
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  Speaker 1: the ladder was finished. It looked clumsy, but the tin
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  Speaker 1: woodman was sure it was strong and would answer their purpose.
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  Speaker 1: The scarecrow waked Dorothy and the lion and Toto and
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  Speaker 1: told them that the ladder was ready. The scarecrow climbed
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  Speaker 1: up the ladder first, but he was so awkward that
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  Speaker 1: Dorothy had to follow close behind and keep him from
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  Speaker 1: falling off. When he got his head over the top
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  Speaker 1: of the wall, the scare crow said, oh my, go on,
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  Speaker 1: exclaimed Dorothy. So the scarecrow climbed further up and sat
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  Speaker 1: down on the top of the wall, and Dorothy put
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  Speaker 1: her head over and cried, oh my, just as the
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  Speaker 1: scarecrow had done. Then Toto came up and immediately began
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  Speaker 1: to bark, but Dorothy made him be still. The lion
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  Speaker 1: climbed the ladder next, and the tin woodman came last,
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  Speaker 1: but both of them cried oh my as soon as
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  Speaker 1: they looked over the wall. When they were all sitting
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  Speaker 1: in a row on the top of the wall, they
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  Speaker 1: looked down and saw a strange sight. Before them was
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  Speaker 1: a great stretch of country, having a floor as smooth
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  Speaker 1: and shining and white as the bottom of a big platter.
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  Speaker 1: Scattered around were many houses made entirely of china and
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  Speaker 1: painted in the brightest colors. These houses were quite small,
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  Speaker 1: the biggest of them reaching only as high as Dorothy's waist.
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  Speaker 1: There were also pretty little barns with china fences around them,
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  Speaker 1: and many cows and sheep, and horses and pigs and chickens,
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  Speaker 1: all made of china, were standing about in groups. But
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  Speaker 1: the strangest of all were the people who lived in
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  Speaker 1: this queer country. There were milkmaids and shepherdesses with brightly
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  Speaker 1: colored bodices and golden spots, all over their gowns, and
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  Speaker 1: princesses with most gorgeous frocks of silver and gold and purple,
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  Speaker 1: and shepherds dressed in knee breeches with pink and yellow
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  Speaker 1: and blue stripes down them, and golden buckles on their shoes,
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  Speaker 1: and princes with jeweled crowns upon their heads wearing earmine
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  Speaker 1: robes and satin doublets, and funny clowns in ruffled gowns
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  Speaker 1: with round red spots upon their cheeks and tall pointed caps.
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  Speaker 1: And strangest of all, these people were all made of china,
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  Speaker 1: even to their clothes, and were so small that the
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  Speaker 1: tallest of them was no higher than Dorothy's knee. No
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  Speaker 1: one did so much as look at the travelers at first,
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  Speaker 1: except one little purple china dog with an extra large head,
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  Speaker 1: which came to the wall and barked at them in
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  Speaker 1: a tiny voice, afterwards running away again. How shall we
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  Speaker 1: get down, asked Dorothy. They found the ladder so heavy
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  Speaker 1: that they could not pull it up, so the scarecrow
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  Speaker 1: fell off the wall, and the others jumped down upon
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  Speaker 1: him so that the hard floor would not hurt their feet.
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  Speaker 1: Of course, they took pains not to light on his
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  Speaker 1: head and get the pins in their feet. When all
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  Speaker 1: were safely down, they picked up the scarecrow, whose body
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  Speaker 1: was quite flattened out, and patted his straw into shape again.
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  Speaker 1: We must cross this strange place in order to get
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  Speaker 1: to the other side, said Dorothy, for it would be
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  Speaker 1: unwise for us to go any other way except due south.
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  Speaker 1: They begin walking through the country of the China people,
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  Speaker 1: and the first thing they came to was a China
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  Speaker 1: milkmaid milking a China cow. As they drew near, the
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  Speaker 1: cow suddenly gave a kick and kicked over the stool.
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  Speaker 1: The pail, and even the milk made herself and all
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  Speaker 1: fell on the China ground with a great clatter. Dorothy
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  Speaker 1: was shocked to see that the cow had broken her
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  Speaker 1: leg off, and that the pail was lying in several
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  Speaker 1: small pieces, while the poor milkmaid had a nick in
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  Speaker 1: her left elbow. There, cried the milkmaid angrily. See what
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  Speaker 1: you have done. My cow has broken her leg and
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  Speaker 1: I must take her to the mender's shop and have
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  Speaker 1: it glued on again. What do you mean by coming
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  Speaker 1: here and frightening my cow? I'm very sorry, returned Dorothy.
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  Speaker 1: Please forgive us, but The pretty milkmaid was much too
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  Speaker 1: vexed to make any answer. She picked up the legs
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  Speaker 1: sulkily and led her cow away, the poor animal limping
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  Speaker 1: on three legs as she left them. The milkmaid cast
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  Speaker 1: many reproachful glances over her shoulder at the clumsy strangers,
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  Speaker 1: holding her nicked elbow close to her side. Dorothy was
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  Speaker 1: quite grieved at this mishap. We must be very careful here,
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  Speaker 1: said the kind hearted woodman, or we may hurt these
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  Speaker 1: pretty little peace both so they will never get over it.
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  Speaker 1: A little farther on, Dorothy met a beautifully dressed young
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  Speaker 1: princess who stopped short as she saw the strangers and
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  Speaker 1: started to run away. Dorothy wanted to see more of
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  Speaker 1: the princess, so she ran after her, but the China
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  Speaker 1: girl cried out, don't chase me, don't chase me. She
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  Speaker 1: had such a frightened little voice that Dorothy stopped and said,
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  Speaker 1: why not, because, answered the princess, also stopping a safe
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  Speaker 1: distance away. If I run, I may fall down and
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  Speaker 1: break myself. But could you not be mended? Asked the girl.
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  Speaker 1: Oh yes, but one is never so pretty after being mended,
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  Speaker 1: you know, replied the princess, I suppose not, said Dorothy.
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  Speaker 1: Now there is mister Joker, one of our clowns, continued
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  Speaker 1: the China lady, who is always trying to stand upon
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  Speaker 1: his head. He has broken himself so often that he
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  Speaker 1: is mended in a hundred places, and doesn't look at
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  Speaker 1: all pretty. Here he comes now, so you can see
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  Speaker 1: for yourself. Indeed, a jolly little clown came walking toward them,
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  Speaker 1: and Dorothy could see that, in spite of his pretty
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  Speaker 1: clothes of red and yellow and green, he was completely
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  Speaker 1: covered with cracks running every which way, and showing plainly
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  Speaker 1: that he had been mended in many places. The clown
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  Speaker 1: put his hands in his pockets, and, after puffing out
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  Speaker 1: his cheeks and nodding his head at them saucily, he said,
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  Speaker 1: my lady, fair, why do you stare at poor old
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  Speaker 1: mister Joker. You're quite as stiff and prim as if
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  Speaker 1: you'd eaten up a poker. Be quiet, sir, said the princess.
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  Speaker 1: Can't you see these are strangers and should be treated
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  Speaker 1: with respect. Well, that's respect, I expect, declared the clown,
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  Speaker 1: and immediately stood upon his head. Don't mind, mister Joker,
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  Speaker 1: said the princess to Dorothy, he is considerably cracked in
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  Speaker 1: his head, and that makes him foolish. Oh, I don't
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  Speaker 1: mind him a bit, said Dorothy. But you are so beautiful.
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  Speaker 1: She continued that I am sure I could love you dearly.
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  Speaker 1: Won't you let me carry you back to Kansas and
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  Speaker 1: stand you on aunt EM's mantle. I could carry you
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  Speaker 1: in my basket. That would make me very unhappy, answered
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  Speaker 1: the China princess. You see, here in our country we
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  Speaker 1: live contentedly and can talk and move around as we please.
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  Speaker 1: But whenever any of us are taken away, our joints
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  Speaker 1: at once stiffen, and we can only stand straight and
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  Speaker 1: look pretty. Of course, that is all that is expected
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  Speaker 1: of us when we are on mantles and cabinets and
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  Speaker 1: drawing room tables. But our lives are much pleasanter here
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  Speaker 1: in our own country. I would not make you unhappy
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  Speaker 1: for all the world, exclaimed Dorothy. So I'll just say goodbye. Goodbye,
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  Speaker 1: replied the princess. They walked carefully through the China country.
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  Speaker 1: The little animals and all the people scampered out of
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  Speaker 1: their way, fearing the strangers would break them, and after
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  Speaker 1: an hour or so, the travelers reached the other side
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  Speaker 1: of the country and came to another China wall. It
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  Speaker 1: was not so high as the first, however, and by
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  Speaker 1: standing upon the lion's back, they all managed to scramble
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  Speaker 1: to the top. Then the lion gathered his legs under
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  Speaker 1: him and jumped on the wall. But just as he jumped,
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  Speaker 1: he upset a China church with his tail and smashed
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  Speaker 1: it all to pieces. That was too bad, said Dorothy,
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  Speaker 1: But really I think we were lucky in not doing
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  Speaker 1: these little people more harm than breaking a cow's leg
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  Speaker 1: in a church. They are all so brittle. They are, indeed,
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  Speaker 1: said the scarecrow, and I am thankful. I am made
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  Speaker 1: of straw and cannot be easily damaged. There are worse
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  Speaker 1: things in the world than being a scarecrow. End of
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  Speaker 1: Chapter twenty