Latest / Adventure Books Collection / 16 - The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - L Frank Baum
Transcript
- 0:00Chapter sixteen, The Magic Art of the Great Humbug. Next morning, the
- 0:06scarecrow said to his friends, congratulate me. I am going to Oz to
- 0:10get my brains at last. When I return, I shall be as other
- 0:15men are. I have always liked you as you were, said Dorothy.
- 0:19Simply. It is kind of you to like a scarecrow. He replied,
- 0:24but surely you will think more of me when you hear the splendid thoughts my
- 0:27new brain is going to turn out. Then he said good bye to them
- 0:31all in a cheerful voice, and went to the throne room, where he
- 0:35rapped upon the door. Come in, said Oz. The Scarecrow went in
- 0:40and found the little man sitting down by the window, engaged in deep thought.
- 0:45I have come for my brains, remarked the scarecrow, a little uneasily.
- 0:50Oh yes, sit down in that chair, please, replied Oz.
- 0:53You must excuse me for taking your head off, but I shall have to
- 0:56do it in order to put your brains in their proper place. That's all
- 1:00right, said the scarecrow. You are quite welcome to take my head off,
- 1:04as long as it will be a better one when you put it on
- 1:07again. So the wizard unfastened his head and emptied out the straw. Then
- 1:12he entered the back room and took up a measure of bran, which he
- 1:15mixed with a great many pins and needles, Having shaken them together thoroughly,
- 1:22he filled the top of the scarecrow's head with the mixture, and stuffed the
- 1:26rest of the space with straw to hold it in place. When he fastened
- 1:30the scarecrow's head on his body again, he said to him hereafter you will
- 1:34be a great man, for I have given you a lot of bran new
- 1:38brains. The scarecrow was both pleased and proud at the fulfillment of his greatest
- 1:44wish, and having thanked Oz warmly, he went back to his friends.
- 1:48Dorothy looked at him curiously. His head was quite bulged out at the top
- 1:53with brains. How do you feel, she asked, I feel wise,
- 1:57indeed, he answered earnestly. When I get used to my brains, I
- 2:01shall know everything. Why are those needles and pins sticking out of your head,
- 2:06asked the tin woodman. That is proof that he is sharp, remarked
- 2:09the lion. Well, I must go to Oz and get my heart,
- 2:14said the woodman. So he walked to the throne room and knocked at the
- 2:16door. Come in, called Oz, and the woodman entered and said,
- 2:21I have come for my heart. Very well, answered the little man.
- 2:25But I shall have to cut a hole in your breast so I can put
- 2:30your heart in the right place. I hope it won't hurt you. Oh
- 2:32no, answered the woodman, I shall not feel it at all. So
- 2:37Oz brought a pair of ten smith's shears and cut a small square hole in
- 2:40the left side of the tin woodman's breast. Then, going to a chest
- 2:46of drawers, he took out a pretty heart, made entirely of silk and
- 2:50stuffed with sawdust. Isn't it a beauty? He asked? It is,
- 2:54indeed, replied the woodman, who was greatly pleased. But is it a
- 3:00kind heart? Oh? Very answered Oz. He put the heart in the
- 3:04woodman's breast, and then replaced the square of tins, soldering it neatly together
- 3:07where it had been cut there. He said, now you have a heart
- 3:13that any man might be proud of. I am sorry that I had to
- 3:15put a patch on your breast, but it really couldn't be helped. Never
- 3:20mind the patch, exclaimed the happy woodman. I am very grateful to you
- 3:24and shall never forget your kindness. Don't speak of it, replied Oz.
- 3:30Then the tad Woodman went back to his friends, who wished him every joy
- 3:35on account of his good fortune. The lion now walked to the throne room
- 3:38and knocked at the door. Come in, said Oz, I have come
- 3:43for my courage, announced the lion, entering the room. Very well,
- 3:46answered the little man, I will get it for you. He went to
- 3:50a cupboard, and, reaching up to a high shelf, took down a
- 3:53square green bottle, the contents of which he poured into a green gold dish
- 3:58beautifully carved, placing this before the cowardly lion, who sniffed at it as
- 4:02if he did not like it. The wizard said, drink What is it?
- 4:08Asked the lion, well, answered Oz. If it were inside of
- 4:12you, it would be courage. You know, of course, that courage
- 4:15is always inside one, so that this really cannot be called courage until you
- 4:21have swallowed it. Therefore, I advise you to drink it as soon as
- 4:26possible. The lion hesitated no longer, but drank till the dish was empty.
- 4:31How do you feel now, asked Oz full of courage, replied the
- 4:35lion, who went joyfully back to his friends to tell them of his good
- 4:40fortune. Oz left to himself, smiled to think of his success and giving
- 4:45the scarecrow and the tin Woodman and the lion exactly what they thought they wanted.
- 4:49How can I help being a humbug, he said, when all these
- 4:54people make me do things that everybody knows can't be done. It was easy
- 4:58to make the scarecrow and the lion and the woodman happy because they imagined I
- 5:01could do anything. But it will take more than just imagination to carry Dorothy
- 5:06back to Kansas, and I'm sure I don't know how it can be done.
- 5:12End of Chapter sixteen