Волшебник страны Оз
The Discovery of Oz, the Terrible
Firsttherewasastripoflightgreensilk,thenastripofdarkgreenandthenastripofemeraldgreen; forOzhadafancytomaketheballoonindifferentshadesofthecoloraboutthem. Ittookthreedaystosewallthestripstogether,butwhenitwasfinishedtheyhadabigbagofgreensilkmorethantwentyfeetlong.
ThenOzpainteditontheinsidewithacoatofthinglue,tomakeitairtight,afterwhichheannouncedthattheballoonwasready.
"Butwemusthaveabaskettoridein,"hesaid. Sohesentthesoldierwiththegreenwhiskersforabigclothesbasket,whichhefastenedwithmanyropestothebottomoftheballoon.
Whenitwasallready,OzsentwordtohispeoplethathewasgoingtomakeavisittoagreatbrotherWizardwholivedintheclouds. Thenewsspreadrapidlythroughoutthecityandeveryonecametoseethewonderfulsight.
OzorderedtheballooncarriedoutinfrontofthePalace,andthepeoplegazeduponitwithmuchcuriosity. TheTinWoodmanhadchoppedabigpileofwood,andnowhemadeafireofit,andOzheldthebottomoftheballoonoverthefiresothatthehotairthatarosefromitwouldbecaughtinthesilkenbag. Graduallytheballoonswelledoutandroseintotheair,untilfinallythebasketjusttouchedtheground.
ThenOzgotintothebasketandsaidtoallthepeopleinaloudvoice:
"Iamnowgoingawaytomakeavisit. WhileIamgonetheScarecrowwillruleoveryou. Icommandyoutoobeyhimasyouwouldme."
