To My Readers

           Well,mydears,hereiswhatyouhaveaskedfor:another"OzBook"aboutDorothy’sstrangeadventures.Totoisinthisstory,becauseyouwantedhimtobethere,andmanyothercharacterswhichyouwillrecognizeareinthestory,too.Indeed,thewishesofmylittlecorrespondentshavebeenconsideredascarefullyaspossible,andifthestoryisnotexactlyasyouwouldhavewrittenityourselves,youmustrememberthatastoryhastobeastorybeforeitcanbewrittendown,andthewritercannotchangeitmuchwithoutspoilingit.

           Intheprefaceto"DorothyandtheWizardofOz"IsaidIwouldliketowritesomestoriesthatwerenot"Oz"stories,becauseIthoughtIhadwrittenaboutOzlongenough;butsincethatvolumewaspublishedIhavebeenfairlydelugedwithlettersfromchildrenimploringmeto"writemoreaboutDorothy,"and"moreaboutOz,"andsinceIwriteonlytopleasethechildrenIshalltrytorespecttheirwishes.

           Therearesomenewcharactersinthisbookthatoughttowinyourlove.I’mveryfondoftheshaggymanmyself,andIthinkyouwilllikehim,too.AsforPolychrome—theRainbow’sDaughter—andstupidlittleButton-Bright,theyseemtohavebroughtanewelementoffunintotheseOzstories,andIamgladIdiscoveredthem.YetIamanxioustohaveyouwriteandtellmehowyoulikethem.

           SincethisbookwaswrittenIhavereceivedsomeveryremarkableNewsfromTheLandofOz,whichhasgreatlyastonishedme.Ibelieveitwillastonishyou,too,mydears,whenyouhearit