Lyman Frank Baum Date of birth: May 15, 1856 Place of birth: Chittenango, New York, USA Date of death: May 6, 1919 Place of death ... Wikipedia

Baum, Frank Lyman- (15.V.1856, Chittenango, New York 6.V.1919, Hollywood, California) prose writer. He found his true calling as a storyteller relatively late. By the age of 40, he had been a salesman and traveling salesman, a reporter and newspaper editor, an actor,... ... US writers. Brief creative biographies

Lyman Frank Baum Lyman Frank Baum Date of birth: May 15, 1856 Place of birth: Chittenango, New York, USA Date of death: May 6, 1919 Place of death ... Wikipedia

- (German Baum) a German surname, translated meaning tree. Famous bearers: Baum, Anton (1830 1886) Czech archaeologist and architect. Baum, Wilhelm (1799?) German physician, professor of surgery. Baum, Joseph (? 1883) Polish... ... Wikipedia

- (Longbeard Soldier) one of the main characters in A.M. Volkov’s fairy tale cycle about the Magic Land. Valid in all six books of the fairy tale series. Contents 1 Dean Gior in Volkov’s books 2 Dean Gior and Faramant ... Wikipedia

This term has other meanings, see Ramina (meanings). The queen of the field mice, Ramina, is a constant heroine of A. M. Volkov’s fairy tales about the Magic Land. Acts in all six books of the fairy tale cycle. Contents 1 Ramina in ... ... Wikipedia

Doggie Totoshka (real name Toto, English Toto) is a character in Alexander Volkov’s fairy-tale cycle about the Magic Land. Occupies a significant place in the plots of the books “The Wizard of the Emerald City”, “Urfene Deuce and His Wooden Soldiers” and ... ... Wikipedia

Here, for reference purposes, is a list of famous literary figures whose works have been adapted into films and animation... Wikipedia

Books

• The Wonderful Land of Oz, Baum Lyman Frank. In the second Oz book, readers will meet a boy named Tip. With the help of magic powder, he revives Jack Pumpkin, the wooden Goat and the Flyer, and the whole company sets off...
• Laughing hippopotamus. American Fairy Tales, Baum Lyman Frank. When the American storyteller Lyman Frank Baum (1856-1919) came up with The Magic Land of Oz, children all over the world fell in love with him. His books have given rise to many film adaptations and imitations, including...

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Lyman Frank Baum
The Wizard of Oz

In a small house, lost in the endless prairies of Kansas, a girl named Dorothy lived with her Uncle Henry and Aunt Em. Their house had only one room, and the cellar was a hole dug in the ground - a shelter where one could hide if a sandstorm suddenly broke out, which often happened in Kansas.

Their gray house was barely visible against the background of the gray plain. Even Auntie Em and Uncle Henry seemed to be covered in gray dust, like everything around them. Only with Toto, a small black dog with long silky hair, and with Dorothy, this ubiquitous dust could not do anything. Dorothy and her pet played so merrily and fussed about so vigorously that the sand dust did not have time to stick to them.

But on this day they had no time for games. Uncle Henry looked worriedly at the sky: it was darkening before his eyes. Uncle Henry went to the barn to see how the horses and cows were doing. Dorothy was also looking at the sky, and Auntie Em stopped washing the dishes and went to the door. At first glance, it became clear to her that a hurricane was approaching.

- Dorothy, come on! - she screamed. - Hide in the cellar quickly!

Toto hid under the bed in fear, and Dorothy, no matter how hard she tried, could not get him out. The deathly frightened Aunt Em threw back the lid of the cellar and went downstairs. Dorothy finally caught Toto and was about to follow her aunt. But she didn’t even have time to reach the door: the house was shaken so strongly by a gust of wind that the girl fell to the floor.

And then something strange happened. The house spun like a top, and then began to slowly rise upward. The tornado picked him up and carried him further and further from the place where he always stood.

In the ensuing darkness, the wind howled terribly, but Dorothy was not at all afraid - the house, as if nothing had happened, smoothly flew through the air.

Toto ran around the room barking loudly, and Dorothy sat calmly on the floor and waited for what would happen next. Eventually she lost track of time and crawled into her bed and fell asleep.

Suddenly she woke up and sat up on the bed. The house no longer flew through the air, but stood still. Bright sunlight streamed through the window. Dorothy rushed to the door and looked out.

How beautiful it was here! The grass was bright green, juicy fruits ripened on the trees, wonderful flowers grew everywhere. Amazing birds of unprecedented beauty fluttered, a stream gurgled and sparkled in the sun.

Dorothy saw a company of very strange people heading towards the house: three men and one woman. They were about her height, but they looked old. And how strangely they were dressed! They wore tall, pointed hats, and bells tinkled on the brims of their hats. The men were in blue clothes, and only the woman was wearing a snow-white dress, sparkling like diamonds. Dorothy decided that the men were probably the same age as Uncle Henry: look what beards they had! But the little woman seemed much older.

When they saw Dorothy, the little men stopped and whispered, as if not daring to approach. And only the little old woman approached Dorothy, bowed low and spoke friendly:

– Welcome to the Land of Munchkins, oh most noble sorceress! The Munchkins express their gratitude to you for killing the Wicked Witch of the East and freeing the Munchkins from slavery.

And the old woman pointed to the corner of the house. Dorothy looked there and screamed in fear. Two feet in silver shoes with pointed toes stuck out from under the house.

– I am the Good Fairy of the North, and I am a friend of the Munchkins. There is another Good Fairy, she lives in the South. And those who settled in the West and East are evil witches. You killed one of them, but there is still another left - the Evil Witch of the entire Land of Oz - the one who lives in the West.

Then the Munchkins, who had been silent all this time, screamed loudly, pointing to the corner of the house under which the Evil Witch was buried. The dead witch's legs disappeared before her eyes, all that was left of her was a pair of silver shoes, and the Wicked Witch of the East herself evaporated in the sun.

The Good Fairy took the shoes and handed them to Dorothy.

“The Witch of the East was very proud of her shoes,” said one of the Munchkins. – They contain magical power, but we don’t know what it is.

Dorothy wanted more than anything to return home, and she asked the Munchkins if they would help her find her way back to Kansas.

The Munchkins shook their heads.

– You need to go to the Emerald City. Perhaps the Great Wizard of Oz will help you,” said the Good Fairy of the North.

-Where is this city? asked Dorothy.

– Right in the center of the country, where the Great Wizard of Oz rules.

- Is he a kind person? – Dorothy asked anxiously.

- He is a Good Wizard. But I can’t say whether he’s a person or not, because I’ve never seen him.

– How do I get there? asked Dorothy.

- We'll have to walk. It will be a long journey, sometimes pleasant, sometimes dangerous. But I will use all my magic to protect you from harm. My kiss will serve as your protection, and no one will dare to touch you,” said the Good Fairy of the North.

She walked up to Dorothy and kissed her on the forehead. Then she pointed out to the girl the road paved with yellow bricks leading to the Emerald City, said goodbye and disappeared. The munchkins wished Dorothy a good trip and disappeared behind the trees.

Dorothy took it out of the closet and put on a blue and white checkered dress and a pink cap, put the bread in a small basket and put on silver shoes - the same ones that belonged to the Witch of the East.

She set off along the road paved with yellow bricks. On both sides of the road were hedges painted blue, and behind them were fields in which vegetables grew in abundance and wheat was eared. Occasionally along the way we came across round houses with domed roofs. All the houses were also blue, because in Munchkin Country the favorite color was blue.

People came out of their houses to look at Dorothy as she passed by; all the Munchkins already knew that she had delivered them from the Evil Witch of the East and freed them from slavery.

In the evening Dorothy reached a large house in which many Munchkins had gathered. They sang and danced, celebrating their deliverance from the Wicked Witch.

Dorothy was invited into the house and treated generously. The rich Munchkin Bok, the owner of the house, himself served her at the table. Dorothy watched with pleasure how the Munchkins were having fun, but soon she was overcome by sleep, and she slept until the morning.

The next morning, Dorothy said goodbye to her new friends and walked down the yellow brick road. She walked for a long time and finally sat down to rest by the side of the road. Not far away, behind a fence, in the middle of a cornfield, she saw a straw scarecrow in a blue Munchkin costume sticking out on a pole. The Straw Man was supposed to scare away the birds from the ripe corn.

Dorothy looked at the stuffed animal with interest, and it suddenly winked at her! Dorothy thought she was imagining it, since scarecrows in Kansas never winked. But then the figure on the pole nodded his head at her in a friendly manner. Amazed Dorothy came closer to the scarecrow.

- Good afternoon! – the scarecrow greeted.

- You can speak? – the girl was surprised.

- Certainly! – answered the Straw Man. - How are you doing?

“Okay, thank you,” Dorothy replied politely. - How are you doing?

“Not in the best way,” the scarecrow smiled. “I’m tired, you know, of hanging around on a pole day and night, driving away crows.” If you would be so kind as to take me off the pole, I would be very grateful.

Dorothy easily removed the scarecrow from the pole: it was stuffed with straw.

- Thank you very much! - said the straw man. - And who are you? And where are you going?

“My name is Dorothy,” the girl answered. “And I’m going to the Emerald City to ask the Great Oz to bring me back home to Kansas.”

“What do you think,” asked the Straw Man, “this Oz could give me brains?”

After all, he was stuffed with straw and had no brains.

“If you come with me, I’ll ask Oz to help you too,” Dorothy promised.

“Thank you,” said the Man of Straw.

And they walked down the road together. Soon the road led them into a dense forest. And suddenly they heard a heavy groan nearby. A man made of tin stood with his ax raised high near a half-cut down tree.

- Were you the one moaning? asked Dorothy.

“Yes,” replied the Tin Man. “For more than a year now I have continued to moan, but during all this time no one has heard me or come to my aid. Please help me, bring an oil can from my house and lubricate my joints. They're so rusty that I can't even move, but if I lubricate them, I'll be fine again.

Dorothy rushed to the Tin Woodman's house and found the oil can. Returning, she lubricated all the joints of the strange man with oil.

The Tin Woodman lowered his ax with a sigh of relief.

- What happiness! - he said. “I’ve been standing swinging this ax ever since I got rusty.” What a joy that it can finally be lowered! But if you hadn’t appeared here, I could have stood like this for an eternity. How did you end up here?

“We are going to the Emerald City to the Great Oz,” answered Dorothy.

- Why do you need it? - asked the Tin Woodman.

“I want him to help me return home to Kansas, and the Straw Man really needs brains,” Dorothy explained.

The Tin Woodman thought for a moment and finally asked:

- Do you think this Oz can give me a heart?

- Certainly! - Dorothy answered. - After all, he is a wizard.

“That’s right,” agreed the Tin Woodman. “Well, if you allow me to join you, I’ll go to the Emerald City and ask Oz to help me.”

- Let's go to! – the scarecrow was happy. Dorothy was also glad that the Tin Woodman would keep them company.

The Tin Woodman asked the girl to put the oil can in the basket.

“You never know what can happen,” he explained. “If I get caught in the rain, I’ll rust again, and then I won’t be able to do without oil.”

And they moved forward along the yellow brick road. They walked and walked, when suddenly a terrible roar came to them from the forest, and the next moment a huge Lion jumped out onto the road. With one swing of his paw, he threw the scarecrow to the side of the road, and then, extending his sharp claws, jumped at the Tin Woodman. But, although the Woodcutter fell to the ground, the Lion could not damage his tin surface and was very surprised by this.

Little Toto, finding himself face to face with the enemy, rushed at the Lion, barking. The huge beast opened its mouth to grab him, but then Dorothy rushed forward, hit the Lion on the nose with all her might and shouted:

- Don't you dare touch Toto!

“I didn’t touch it,” Lev answered peacefully, rubbing his nose.

- But you were going to! - Dorothy objected. - What a coward you are - you attack little ones!

- I know. – The ashamed Leo lowered his head. – I always knew it. But what can you do?

“Come with us to Oz, let him give you courage,” Dorothy suggested.

– I’ll be willing to go, if you don’t mind! A life like mine is simply unbearable.

“We'll be glad,” Dorothy replied. “You will scare wild animals away from us.”

And they set off.

The forest around became thicker and darker. Some strange sounds came to them from the thicket.

An abyss blocked the way for the travelers. The Tin Woodman cut down a large tree in order to move along its trunk to the other side. But as soon as the travelers began to cross, a menacing roar was heard very close, and they, looking back, saw that two huge animals with the bodies of a bear and the heads of a tiger were rushing towards them.

- These are kalidahi! – the Cowardly Lion cried in horror, trembling all over.

Dorothy picked Toto up in her arms and hurried across the bridge to the other side. She was followed by the Straw Man and the Tin Woodman. Lev was the last to cross the bridge. Stepping onto the ground, he turned around and growled at the Kalidakhs. The Kalidahi at first retreated, but seeing that their enemy was not so formidable, besides, he was alone, and there were two of them, they rushed forward.

The Tin Woodman immediately began to chop down the tree, and just at that moment, when the Kalidahi were already very close, the tree trunk broke with a crash and fell into the abyss. And then the snarling monsters flew down and crashed on the sharp stones at the bottom of the abyss.

After such an adventure, the travelers hurried to get out of the forest as quickly as possible. They quickened their pace and soon came to a fast river. The Tin Woodman took out an ax and cut down several short trees to build a raft from them. When the raft was ready, the travelers boarded it. They safely set sail from the shore, but in the middle of the river, the rapid current picked up the raft and carried it further and further from the road paved with yellow brick. The river turned out to be so deep that the long poles with which the scarecrow and the Tin Woodman steered the raft did not reach the bottom.

“It’s bad,” said the Tin Woodman. “If we don’t get to land, we’ll be carried away to the Land of the Wicked Witch of the West, and she’ll turn us into her slaves.”

– We definitely have to get to the Emerald City! - exclaimed the Straw Man and pushed so hard with his pole that the end of the pole got stuck in the mud at the bottom of the river. The Straw Man did not have time to pull him out: the raft slipped out from under his feet. And the poor little man was left hanging in the middle of the river, clinging to a pole.

The lion bravely rushed into the water, and the Tin Woodman grabbed his tail. Friends wanted to swim up to the scarecrow to help him.

And at this time a stork flew over the river; it was he who saved the scarecrow. The Straw Man warmly thanked the stork. He was so happy to be among friends again that he embraced them all in joy.

- Thank you! – Dorothy also thanked his savior. The kind stork soared into the sky and soon disappeared from sight.

The travelers walked and walked and finally saw a whole field of scarlet poppies in front of them. Anyone who inhaled the aroma of these flowers fell into sleep. And if a traveler falls asleep right in a poppy field, he will sleep forever. This is what happened to Dorothy - within a few minutes she was already fast asleep.

- What do we do? - asked the Tin Woodman.

“If we leave her here, she will die,” said the Lion. “The smell of these flowers will kill us all.” My own eyes are sticking together. I'd better get out of here as soon as possible.

Toto and Dorothy were fast asleep, but the smell of flowers had no effect on the Straw Man and the Tin Woodman: after all, they were not made of flesh and blood. They placed Toto on Dorothy's lap and carried her. It seemed that there would be no end to the huge carpet of deadly flowers. And suddenly they saw Leo: sleep had fallen over him almost at the very edge of the field. And beyond stretched meadows covered with thick grass.

“We can’t help him,” said the Tin Woodman sadly. “It’s too heavy, we can’t lift it.” We'll have to leave him. He will sleep forever and perhaps dream that he has finally found courage.

They carried Dorothy and Toto as far as possible and carefully lowered them to the ground, away from the dangerous flowers. Suddenly the Woodcutter heard a dull growl: a huge wild cat was chasing a small field mouse. The cat's mouth was wide open, two rows of sharp teeth sparkled predatorily, and its red eyes glowed. And the Woodcutter, even though he had no heart, realized that he could not allow the killing of a defenseless tiny creature. He swung his ax and cut off the cat's head.

When the danger had passed, the field mouse approached its savior and said in a trembling voice:

- I am so grateful to you - you saved my life. I am the Queen of the Field Mice. Let my subjects thank you for this brave deed. They will fulfill your every wish.

The Tin Woodman asked the mouse to save their friend, the Cowardly Lion. The Queen ordered her subjects to bring ropes to pull the Cowardly Lion out of the field on a cart, which the Tin Woodman had meanwhile made from branches.

The mice harnessed themselves to the cart, the Straw Man and the Tin Woodman leaned behind them - and soon the Lion was pulled out of the poppy field. Dorothy, who had already woken up from her intoxicating sleep, warmly thanked the little mice for saving her friend from death.

The mice, having done their job, unharnessed from the cart and darted into the grass, hurrying to their homes. Only the Queen lingered.

“If you ever need our help again,” she said, “come to this field and call us.” We will hear your call and we will come. And now - goodbye.

- Goodbye! - the friends answered in unison, and the Queen disappeared into the thick grass.

Everyone sat down near Leo and began to wait for him to wake up.

Finally the Cowardly Lion woke up and was very happy to find that he was alive.

When Lev finally came to his senses, they continued along the yellow brick road. The region where they ended up was beautiful. The hedges and houses along the road were painted green. The people wore emerald green clothes and the same pointed hats that the Munchkins wore.

“This looks like Oz,” said Dorothy. – So, the Emerald City is already close.

Soon the travelers saw a wonderful green glow above the horizon.

They continued on their way, and the radiance became brighter. At noon, the travelers approached the high wall that surrounded the city. The wall was also green.

The friends found themselves in front of a large gate decorated with emeralds that sparkled and shimmered in the sun. Dorothy saw a bell at the gate and rang it. The gates slowly opened, and the travelers entered a room with a high vaulted ceiling, emeralds shimmered on its walls.

In front of the friends sat a small man about the same height as the Munchkins. He was dressed in green from head to toe, even his skin had a greenish tint. Near the man stood a large chest - also green.

– What do you need in the Emerald City? – the little man asked those who came.

“We came to see the Great Oz,” Dorothy answered bravely.

The little man was very surprised.

“Few people got to see Oz,” he said. “But I, the Guardian of the Gate, will take you to the palace.” Just put on those green glasses first so you don't get blinded by the glitz and luxury of the Emerald City. Even residents of our city wear such glasses both day and night.

The guard opened the chest. It contained glasses of all shapes and sizes. The Guardian of the Gate selected suitable glasses for each of the travelers.

Then he put on his glasses himself and announced that he was ready to escort the guests to the palace. Then he took a large golden key from the nail, unlocked another gate, and after him his friends went out into the streets of the Emerald City.

Although the eyes of Dorothy and her friends were protected by green glasses, at first they were blinded by the brilliance of the wonderful city. On both sides of the streets stood green marble houses decorated with emeralds. The pavement was also paved with marble slabs; The gaps between the slabs were filled with emeralds that sparkled in the sun. The windows were made of green glass, even the sky above the city was light green, and the sun cast green rays.

The streets were full of people; all the townspeople were dressed in green clothes, and everyone had greenish skin. They all looked with curiosity at Dorothy and her unusual companions, and the children hid behind their mothers when they saw the Lion, but no one spoke to the travelers. There were many shops and benches on the street. Dorothy noticed that all the goods in them were green.

There seemed to be no horses or other animals in the city. People carried all their luggage themselves in small green carts. Everyone looked happy and quite satisfied with life.

The travelers who followed the Guardian soon approached the palace. At the door stood a guard with a long green beard and wearing a green uniform.

“Strangers have appeared,” the Guardian of the Gate addressed him, “and they want to see the Great Oz.”

“Come in,” answered the guard. “I will report you to the Great Oz.”

The friends walked through the palace gates, the Guard led them into a beautifully furnished green room and left.

His friends had to wait a long time for his return. Finally he returned with the words:

“Oz will receive you, but you must come to him one at a time, and each will be assigned a certain day for this.” In the meantime, I will show you the rooms in the palace where you can sit comfortably and relax.

The next morning the maid came for Dorothy. She brought a lovely dress made of green satin and helped the girl get dressed. Dorothy put on a green silk apron, tied a green bow around Toto's neck, and they went to the throne room of the Great Oz.

Dorothy crossed the threshold of the hall with excitement. It was a large round room with a high vaulted ceiling, its walls were decorated with emeralds. The sun shone through the round window in the center of the dome, and the emeralds shone dazzlingly in its rays.

In the center of the hall stood a throne made of green marble, decorated with precious stones. On the throne rested a huge bald head without a body.

Dorothy looked at the head with curiosity and fear, and the eyes of the head stared at her. Then the lips moved and Dorothy heard a voice:

– I am Oz, the Great and Powerful. Who are you and why were you looking for me?

Dorothy plucked up her courage and replied:

- I'm Dorothy, Little and Meek. I came to you for help.

The eyes looked at her thoughtfully for a full minute. Then a voice asked:

-Where did you get your silver shoes?

“I got them from the Wicked Witch of the East, when my house fell on her and crushed her,” the girl answered.

- What do you want from me? - asked Oz.

“Please help me get back to Kansas, to Aunt Em and Uncle Henry,” Dorothy said pleadingly. “Auntie Em must be terribly worried that I’ve been gone for so long.”

“Well,” said Oz. “But first you have to do something for me.” You must kill the Wicked Witch of the West.

- But I can not! - Dorothy cried.

– You killed the Wicked Witch of the East and wear her silver shoes, which contain magical power. Now there is only one Wicked Witch left in this country, and when you bring me the news of her death, I will bring you back to Kansas - but not before.

Saddened, Dorothy left the throne room and returned to her friends, who were eager to find out what Oz had told her.

“I have no hope,” Dorothy said with a sigh. “Oz won’t bring me home until I kill the Wicked Witch of the West, and I’ll never be able to do that.”

Her friends were very upset, but how could they help her?! Dorothy returned to her room and cried there until sleep overcame her.

The next day, the Straw Man was called to Oz. Oz appeared before him in the form of a beautiful lady with light silk wings behind her back.

The next day the Tin Woodman went to Oz. Oz appeared before him in the form of a huge monster. And when Leo entered the throne room, he saw a large fireball. Oz asked each of the travelers to kill the Wicked Witch of the West.

– What should we do now? - Dorothy asked when they got together.

“There is only one thing left for us,” answered Lev. – Go to the Country of Winks, find the Evil Witch and destroy her. Maybe we can deal with it?

And they decided that the next morning they would set off.

A guard with a green mustache led his friends through the streets of the Emerald City to the entrance gate. The Gate Guardian took off their glasses, put them in the chest and kindly opened the city gates to their friends.

– Which road leads to the Wicked Witch of the West? asked Dorothy.

“There is no such road,” answered the Gate Guardian. “No one would dare to travel along this road.”

– But how can we find the Witch then? – the girl was confused.

“It will be easy,” said the Guardian. – As soon as the Sorceress finds out that you have come to the Country of the Winks, she herself will find you and make you her slaves. Be careful: she is insidious and cunning - you are unlikely to be able to defeat her. Go west, where the sun sets, and you will certainly find it.

Soon the Emerald City was left behind. Our travelers went further and further; the terrain they walked through became increasingly hilly.

By noon the sun began to get hot; there was not a single tree around to hide in its shade. Long before nightfall, Dorothy, Toto and Lev were completely exhausted, lay down on the grass and fell asleep. The Woodcutter and Straw Man remained on guard.

The Wicked Witch of the West has long noticed Dorothy and her friends from the window of her castle. She became furious when she saw them in her country. The Evil Witch raised the silver whistle that hung around her neck to her lips and blew into it.

A whole pack of wolves immediately rushed towards her. They had strong legs, fierce eyes and sharp teeth.

“Seize the strangers,” the Sorceress ordered, “and tear them to shreds.”

“Willingly,” the Wolf Leader growled and rushed forward, and the whole pack rushed after him.

Luckily, the Straw Man and the Woodcutter were awake and heard the wolves approaching them.

The woodcutter grabbed an ax and began to chop off the heads of all the wolves that attacked him. When the Witch saw that all the wolves were dead and the strangers were safe and sound, she became even more angry. And she blew the whistle twice again.

A huge flock of ravens flew towards her. The Evil Witch ordered the Crow King:

“Fly now to these strangers, peck out their eyes and tear them to shreds.”

The crows flew towards Dorothy and her companions. As they approached, the Straw Man jumped up and spread his arms, blocking his friends who were sleeping on the ground. Seeing him, the crows were frightened: after all, scarecrows are needed to scare away birds. They did not dare to fly closer. But the Crow King said:

- Yes, he’s just a little man stuffed with straw! Now I'll peck his eyes out!

And the Crow King rushed forward, but the Straw Man grabbed him by the head and twisted his neck. The same fate befell the entire flock.

The Evil Witch looked out the window, saw that all the crows were dead, and flew into a terrible rage. She called a dozen of her Migun slaves, gave them sharp spears and ordered them to kill the strangers.

The winks went to carry out the order. But as soon as they approached Dorothy, the Lion growled menacingly and rushed at them. Poor Winks were so scared that they ran away.

The Evil Witch was beside herself with rage. She put a Golden Helmet on her head, which had magical powers. The one who put it on could do it three times - but only three times! - call the Winged Monkeys, who were ready to carry out any order. The Monkeys have already served twice. This was the last time the Evil Witch could count on the help of the Winged Monkeys. The sound of many wings was heard, and soon the Evil Witch was surrounded on all sides by Winged Monkeys.

The sorceress ordered:

“Fly to the strangers who have come to my country and destroy them all except Leo.” Bring the lion to me, I will make him walk in harness and work like a horse.

The Winged Monkeys flew towards Dorothy and her friends. Some monkeys grabbed the Tin Woodman, carried him to the mountains and threw him into the abyss. The unfortunate Woodcutter fell onto sharp stones, where he remained lying, broken and crumpled.

The other monkeys grabbed onto the Straw Man and pulled all the straw out of his head and clothes. The monkeys tied the Lion with ropes, lifted him into the air and carried him to the Witch's castle. There he was thrown into a small courtyard surrounded by a high iron fence; Leo couldn't get out of there.

But no one dared to touch Dorothy: after all, the Good Fairy’s kiss was imprinted on her forehead. The Winged Monkeys carried Dorothy to the Wicked Witch's castle and lowered her to the ground. The Leader of the Monkeys said to the Witch:

- We carried out the order. The Tin Woodman and the Straw Man are destroyed, and the tied Lion lies in the yard behind the fence. But we dare not harm either this little girl or the little dog she holds in her arms.

And the Winged Monkeys soared into the air with a noise and disappeared from sight.

The Evil Witch was both surprised and alarmed when she saw the mark on Dorothy's forehead and her magical silver slippers: even she could not do anything about the magical power protecting the girl. But she immediately realized that Dorothy herself knew nothing about the magical power of the shoes. “But I can turn this girl into a slave,” thought the Witch. “After all, she doesn’t know what power she is endowed with.”

And the Evil Witch hissed:

- Follow me! You will do everything I command, otherwise I will deal with you the same way as with the Tin Woodman and the Straw Man.

The witch forced the girl to work in the kitchen. Dorothy decided to work as hard as she could: she was also glad that the Witch had left her alive. The lion was kept in the yard; It was ordered not to feed him until he became quiet and obedient.

Every night, when the Witch fell asleep, Dorothy secretly brought food from the pantry to the Lion. Having satisfied his hunger, he lay down on a bed of straw, and Dorothy settled down next to him, resting her head on his soft shaggy mane; they shared their troubles with each other and discussed an escape plan. But it was impossible to find a way to salvation: the castle was guarded by the Miguns, whom the Evil Witch subjugated. They were so afraid of their mistress that they did not dare to disobey her orders.

The Evil Witch dreamed of taking possession of the silver shoes that Dorothy wore without taking them off: after all, they had great power. To get the shoes, the Witch set a trap for the girl. She placed an iron bar on the threshold of the kitchen and bewitched it so that it became invisible to human eyes. As soon as Dorothy crossed the threshold, she tripped over an invisible beam and fell. She was not hurt, but one of the silver shoes came off her foot when she fell. Before Dorothy could reach out to the shoe, the Witch grabbed the shoe and pulled it onto her foot.

Dorothy, seeing that one of her lovely shoes was taken from her, became very angry. She grabbed a bucket and doused the Witch with water from head to toe.

And at that very moment the Evil Witch screamed in horror and melted before the eyes of the astonished Dorothy.

Dorothy picked up the silver slipper - all that was left of the evil old woman - wiped it dry and put it on her foot. Then she ran out into the yard, freed Lev from captivity and told him that the Wicked Witch of the West was dead. Together they headed to the castle. Dorothy called all the Winks and announced to them that the power of the evil sorceress had come to an end and from now on they were free.

That was the joy of the yellow Winks! After all, they worked for so many years by the sweat of their brow for the Evil Witch.

As a token of gratitude, the Winks found and repaired the Tin Woodman and the Straw Man, who had been maimed by the Monkeys. How happy the friends were to get together again!

The next day they said goodbye to Migunami. Now that they had fulfilled Oz's condition, it was time for them to return to the Emerald City so that Oz could fulfill his promises. The Winks fell in love with the Tin Woodman so much that they asked him to return to them and become the ruler of the Yellow Country of the West.

Putting on the Golden Helmet of the Witch, Dorothy summoned the Winged Monkeys and ordered her and her friends to be taken to Oz. In the Emerald City they were immediately taken to the wizard. Each of the friends thought that they would see Oz in the form in which he had appeared before, but, to their surprise, there was no one in the room.

Attention! This is an introductory fragment of the book.

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Lyman Frank Baum

Oz

To the unsurpassed fine fellows and outstanding comedians David Montgomery and Fred Stone, whose talented impersonations on stage of the Tin Woodman and the Scarecrow delighted thousands of children in the country, this book is gratefully dedicated to

After The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was published, I began receiving letters from children telling me about the pleasure they had in reading the story and asking me to “write more” about the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman. At first I saw these little letters, sincere and honest, as simply pleasant compliments. But the letters continued to arrive for many months and even years.

And one little girl made a long journey just to see me and personally ask me to write a sequel to this book... The girl’s name, by the way, was Dorothy. I promised her that when a thousand little girls wrote me a thousand little letters asking for another story about the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman, I would write such a book. I don’t know whether the real fairy took the form of little Dorothy and waved her magic wand, or whether the success of the theatrical production of “The Wizard of Oz” is to blame, but in the end this story made many new friends. Time passed, a thousand letters found me - and many more followed.

And now, admitting my guilt for the long delay, I fulfill my promise and present this book.

L. Frank Baum

Chicago, June 1904

1. Type creates Pumpkinhead

In the land of the Gillikins, in the north of the Land of Oz, there lived a boy named Tip. True, his real name was much longer. Old Mombi often said that his full name was Tippetarius. But no one had the patience to utter such a long word, so everyone simply called the boy Tip.

The boy did not remember his parents. When he was still very young, the old woman Mombi convinced him that it was she who raised him. But I must tell you that Mombi’s reputation was not very good. The Gillikins were afraid of her witchcraft power and tried not to meet with her.

Mombi was not a real witch, because the Good Fairy - the ruler of this part of the Land of Oz - forbade witches to live in her domain. Therefore, according to the law of witchcraft, Tip's guardian did not have the right to do more than an ordinary petty sorceress.

The old woman often sent Tip into the forest to fetch branches to boil her pot. She forced the boy to collect grains, corn cobs and cultivate the soil with a hoe. He tended pigs and milked a cow with four horns, which was Mombi's special pride.

But don’t think that all the boy did was work for the old woman. He didn't want to follow Mombi's orders all the time. When she sent him into the forest, Tip would climb trees for birds' eggs or chase fast white rabbits. Sometimes he used cleverly curved hooks to catch fish in streams. Having had enough of a walk, the boy got to work and carried the branches home. And when he had time to work in the field and the tall stalks of cereals hid him from Mombi’s gaze, Tip climbed into gopher holes. If I wasn’t in the mood, I just lay on my back and dozed. He grew up strong and agile.

Mombi's witchcraft frightened her neighbors. They treated her timidly and respectfully, fearing her mysterious power. And Tip simply didn’t love her - and didn’t even hide it.

Pumpkins grew in the fields of Mombi, shimmering with golden crimson among the green stems. They were carefully looked after so that the four-horned cow had something to eat in winter. One day, when the grain was cut and collected in stacks, Tip took the pumpkins into the barn. He wanted to make a scarecrow - a “Jack-O-Lantern” - and play a trick on the old woman.

The boy chose a beautiful orange-red pumpkin and began to cut it with a small knife. He carved out two round eyes, a triangular nose and a mouth shaped like a moon on a new moon. It cannot be said that the face turned out to be very beautiful; but there was so much charm in his expression, and his smile was so wide that Tip even laughed. He was very pleased with his work.

The boy had no friends, so he did not know that other boys often take out the insides of a Jack Pumpkin and insert a lit candle into the resulting cavity to make the pumpkin face more expressive. But Tip came up with another idea, which seemed very tempting to him. He decided to make a little man who would wear this pumpkin head. And then place it in some suitable place so that Mombi will suddenly encounter it and get scared.

Then,” Tip said to himself cheerfully, “she will squeal louder than a brown pig when I push him in the side.” And he will shake with fear more than I did last year from malaria!

The boy had a lot of time to fulfill his plan, because Mombi went to the neighboring village for provisions. Such a journey usually took her two full days.

Tip selected several slender young trees in the forest, cut them down and cleared them of branches and leaves. From these he made arms and legs for his little man. And he made the body from the bark of a mighty tree that grew nearby. He managed to give a piece of bark the shape of an almost regular cylinder. Satisfied with his work, the boy collected all the parts and connected them into one whole. It turned out to be a torso, from which pegs stuck out - arms and legs. A sharp knife gave them the desired shape.

Having completed his work in the evening, Tip remembered that he still had to milk the cow and feed the piglets. He grabbed the wooden man and carried him into the house.

In the evening, by the light of the kitchen fire, Tip carefully rounded all the parts of his creation and smoothed out the rough places. The outline of the man took on a pleasant and even graceful appearance, in Tip’s opinion. He leaned the figure against the wall and admired it. The figure seemed tall even for an adult.

Looking at his work in the morning, Tip saw that he had forgotten to attach the man’s neck. But only with its help it was possible to connect the pumpkin head with the body. The boy again ran into the nearby forest and cut down several strong branches. Returning, he began to complete his work. The guy put the pumpkin head on, slowly pressing on the stick-neck until the connection was strong enough. As he had intended, the head could now easily turn in all directions. And the rods of the arms and legs made it possible to give the body any position.

“I got a wonderful person,” Tip rejoiced. - And he can scare Mombi. But he will become even more alive if you put him on!

Briefly about the article: It turns out we know very little about Oz creator Lyman Frank Baum. How did it happen that his first book was a treatise on chickens? Why did the writer’s descendants apologize to the Indians? What lessons does Baum give to project writers? We may not like the answers to these questions, but you can’t erase the words from the song.

Multi-machine operator from the project O.Z.

FRANK BAUM

Once upon a time there lived a kind storyteller, Lyman Frank Baum. He dreamed of wonderful countries where good and evil wizards, talking animals and funny short people live - he came up with the country of Oz, which is now so loved by children all over the world... Oh, what a sugary molasses! And, most importantly, it wasn’t like that, it wasn’t like that at all. How did it happen that Baum's first book was a treatise on chickens? Why did the writer’s descendants apologize to the Indians? What lessons does Baum give to project writers? You may like the answers to these questions, but you can’t remove the words from the song.

It is enough to study Baum’s biography for the myth of the good storyteller to melt away, like the Evil Witch who was doused with water from a bucket by Dorothy. Baum dreamed of dreaming, but not so much about fairy-tale kingdoms, but about making money, which explains his persistence in developing a literary vein: in a relatively short time (a little over twenty years) he created six dozen novels, as well as many stories, poems, scripts and more. At the same time, he remained in the history of literature as the author of “The Wizard of Oz” and its sequels. If Baum was a pioneer, it was only in one area - in the market of novels for youth, in current Western terminology - young adult novels, abbreviated as YA. Of course, such novels appeared in abundance before Baum, but it was he who made every effort to commercialize this area, turning Oz into the first fantasy project - and trying to squeeze the maximum profit out of it

The good thing about good fairy tales is that children like them, and in this sense, The Wizard of Oz is a great fairy tale. With adults, everything is more complicated: “This book is strangely warming and touching, but no one knows exactly why,” admitted Baum scholar Henry Littlefield. But this casket opens simply. By and large, the land of Oz suffered the same fate as “Tao,” one of the basic concepts of Chinese philosophy: each thinker of Ancient China used this term in his own way, so that the philosopher Han Yu called Tao an “empty position” that has no precise fixed meaning. So is the country of Oz: everyone sees something of their own in it, but what L. Frank Baum saw in it - and whether he saw at least something - is another question.

ARRAN VIRGINS AND HAMBURG COOSTERS

Lyman Frank Baum - he did not like his first name and preferred to be called simply Frank - was born on May 15, 1856 in the village of Chittenango, New York (today the residents of this area are proud of their fellow countryman, annually holding Oz-Stravaganza festivals with costume parades and they even built a yellow brick road in 1982). Baum was lucky: he was born into a wealthy family. His father, a German-born businessman, started out as a cooper and made his fortune in Pennsylvania oil. Together with his brothers and sisters (there were nine of them in total, five lived to adulthood) Baum grew up on his father’s estate, Rose Lawn, which he remembered all his life as “paradise.”

Since Frank, according to his parents, grew up as a sickly dreamer, at the age of twelve he was sent to a military academy, where the boy stayed for two years, after which he returned home. The extent to which the Baums were not poor can be judged by the following fact from Frank’s biography: when the teenager became interested in printing, his dad bought him a modest printing press, so soon Frank and his younger brother Henry began publishing the Rose Lawn Home Journal. The young man’s inclination towards entrepreneurship was evident even then: the magazine published advertisements, for which Baum, apparently (cautious biographers note), took money.

At the age of seventeen, Frank’s youthful hobby became a business: he started publishing the Stamp Collector magazine and, together with his friends, began selling philatelic products. Three years later, the young businessman became seriously interested in breeding, excuse me, Hamburg roosters, which are not at all the fantasy of the hero of the comedy “Gentlemen of Fortune,” but a real breed of birds, bred in Hamburg by crossing chickens, geese and turkeys. Since 1880, Baum has published the magazine “Facts about Birds”, in 1886 he published the first book - not a fairy tale, but a brochure about the same Hamburg roosters, about their mating, nutrition and other matters important for poultry farmers. Baum did not limit himself to Kurami - he made and sold fireworks, which were in particular demand on Independence Day, and at one time worked as a clerk in his brother's haberdashery company.

In addition, Frank constantly tried himself in the theatrical field, but here it was no longer a matter of money, but of passion. The spotlight attracted Baum from his youth until his death. He beckoned and, as usual, burned. When Frank lived in Lone Rose, a local troupe promised him roles in exchange for sponsorship - the theater needed a wardrobe update - and then deceived him. In the end, the father, taking pity on his tormented son, simply built him a theater in Richburg. Frank immediately set to work on the play “The Maid of Arran” based on William Black’s novel “The Princess of Foula”: he composed it himself, directed it himself, wrote the music and songs himself, and played the main role. The work had a pathetic subtitle: “A Play That Seduces All Hearts and Leaves an Imprint of Beauty and Nobility on the Low Nature of Man.” An idea like “he dances himself, sings himself, sells tickets himself” promised to be successful, but everything ended badly: while Baum and his comrades were touring with “The Maid of Arran”, the theater, along with the costumes and manuscripts of the plays, burned down, and the fire started during the performance with a prophetic called "Matches".

In 1882, Baum married and six years later (shortly after the theater failure) settled in Dakota. He first opened Baum's General Store, but soon went bankrupt because he often sold goods on credit. Then Baum took up editing a local newspaper. In December 1890, nine days before the massacre at Wounded Knee, which became the last major battle of the Indian Wars, the future author of good fairy tales composed a column in which he called for the destruction of all Indians so that they would stop annoying white Americans: they say, since we offended them for centuries, let's completely offend the Redskins and wipe from the face of the earth this proud, “untamed and untamed” people who threaten our civilization. A piquant detail: the journalist Baum wrote the word “destruction” with a spelling error - extIrmination. In 2006, Baum's descendants apologized to the Sioux Indians for the writer.

In addition to practicing highly social journalism, Baum managed to sing in a quartet and enjoy the views of South Dakota, which he would later pass off in the book as views of Kansas (Baum once visited there for only two days). In 1891, the newspaper died, and the couple and their four sons moved again, now to Chicago, where Frank got a job as a reporter for the Evening Post. For some time he was a traveling salesman, in 1897 he began writing a magazine about window dressing and eventually, as in the case of the Hamburg roosters, he published a book on the subject, where he substantiated the use of dressed mannequins and clockwork mechanisms to attract clientele.

THE ADVENTURES OF FRANK BAUM IN SHOW BUSINESS

By this time, Baum had already become a children's writer. He himself rated his talent extremely highly: in Baum’s book from the “Aunt Jane’s Nieces” series, published under a pseudonym, a certain film director tells the heroines about storytellers whose books were successfully filmed, and lists them as follows: “Hans Andersen, Frank Baum, Lewis Carroll " All this would be funny if it weren’t so sad: Baum’s very first fairy tale, later renamed “The Astonishing Adventures of the Magic Monarch Moe and His People,” was published in 1896 under the title “The New Wonderland,” and the reference to Carroll clearly reflected the author’s intention to promote himself at someone else’s expense.

Books for children were in demand, but Baum did not immediately find his niche. The New Wonderland, with its emphasis on absurdist humor, sold poorly, and in 1897 Frank published the much more traditional Mother Goose Tales in Prose. The moderate success of this book prompted him to create a sequel: joining forces with the artist William Denslow, Baum published a volume of poems, “Papa Goose: His Book,” which became a bestseller. In form it was “nonsense poetry” a la Edward Lear, in content - something that now in the West they prefer not to remember: in children's poems, Baum managed to insult blacks, Irish, Italians, Chinese and Indians, and in the next book, Pope The goose also hit the Jews.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, with text by Baum and illustrations by Denslow (they shared equal rights to the book), was published in 1900. The story of the Kansas girl Dorothy, carried away by a tornado into a magical land where talking scarecrows, animals and even people made of iron live, was initially supposed to be limited to one book. "The Wizard" became a hit, but the next product of Baum and Denslow, "Dot and Tot in the Happy Land", disappointed the reader, and then Frank decided to strike while the iron was hot: in 1904 he published the fairy tale "The Wonderful Land of Oz", the action of which happened in the same world. And in 1907, having previously struggled with other projects, Baum returned to Oz for good, writing “Ozma from Oz,” and from then on he steadily published a book a year (with a break in 1911–1912).

The capitalization of Oz also went in other directions: a year after the publication of The Wizard, Baum, together with composer Paul Tietjens, turned the fairy tale into a musical. Frank, who loved to mythologize events, later recalled that one day a young man in glasses came to him and offered to make a theatrical performance out of a fairy tale, “and wrap it all up...”. In fact, Tietjens and Baum were introduced by a Chicago artist who was illustrating another of Frank’s creations, and before “The Wizard,” they wrote two musicals, “Octopus” and “King Midas,” which no one wanted to stage. Baum greeted the idea of ​​bringing the plot of the bestseller to the stage coldly, but the musical, which started in 1902, ran successfully on Broadway for many years and earned the authors a fortune. Because of this, Baum forever quarreled with Danslow, who demanded that the profits be divided among three. By the way, with money from the “Wizard” the artist acquired an island as part of the Bermuda archipelago and declared it a kingdom, and appointed himself King Denslow I.

The plot of the musical was not the same as the book: the Wicked Witch of the West was not there at all, but the real King Oz appeared, who expelled the Wizard who had usurped power. Moreover, the musical made references to American politics, in particular to President Theodore Roosevelt and oil tycoon John Rockefeller. Perhaps this is where the legs grow from the interpretations of the fairy tale as a political pamphlet, which will be discussed below. The continuation of the musical based on the second book of the series failed - Dorothy and the Lion were not in the book, the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman also disappeared from the musical, so the audience was not inspired by the performance.

Baum more than once or twice tried to put an end to the land of Oz, declaring that this book would be the last, but he never decided to slaughter the cash cow. In Frank's brain, projects arose, one more fantastic than the other. In 1905, after moving to California, he said in an interview that he had acquired Pedlow Island and wanted to turn it into the Wonderful Land of Oz amusement park. Biographers have searched in vain for this island or even evidence that Baum acquired any islands. One way or another, after the failure of another musical, he abandoned the idea of ​​the park.

Passion for the theater slowly but surely destroyed Baum - his musicals left the stage almost faster than they appeared. Fleeing from bankruptcy, Frank transferred all his property, including the library and typewriter, to his wife’s name, and also sold the rights to books about Oz to the publishing house M.A. Donahue, who found nothing better than to release their cheap editions and claim that they are much cooler than the new Baum fairy tales. In 1914, Frank went into filmmaking, founded The Oz Film Manufacturing Company, tried to make films for children, but again went broke and suffered from poor health. In May 1919, Baum suffered a stroke and died, just short of his sixty-third birthday. The following year, his last, fourteenth tale about the land of Oz was published.

PROJECT O.Z., CANONICAL AND APOCRYPHAL

The exact number of texts about the land of Oz cannot be counted: to Baum’s 14 books should be added 28 novels of the original canon, recognized as heirs, and hundreds of published “apocrypha”. These include books by famous science fiction writers: “The Number of the Beast” by Robert Heinlein, “Sir Harold and the Nome King” by L. Sprague de Camp, “The Tourist in Oz” by Philip Farmer, the novelization “Return to Oz” by Joan Vinge and even the fourth volume "The Dark Tower" by Stephen King. Particularly successful in writing apocrypha were Roger Baum, the great-grandson of L. Frank Baum (11 novels), and March Laumer, the older brother of science fiction writer Keith Laumer (21 books). Among publishing houses, the conveyor belt of Chris Dulabon, launched in 1986, breaks all records, releasing about a hundred books about the land of Oz from various authors, including translations into English of fairy tales by Alexander Volkov. Oz also has its own revisionists: in 1995, Gregory Maguire wrote the novel The Witch: The Life and Times of the Western Witch of Oz, the first in a series of “parallel” books based on Baum’s tales. The main character of the novel was an evil witch who received the name Elphaba after Baum’s initials - L.F.B.

BOOKS FOR EVERYONE, AND NO ONE WILL LEAVE OFFENDED

As befits a project author, L. Frank Baum wrote not only under his own name, but also under seven pseudonyms, three of which were female. For example, he published the popular series “Aunt Jane's Nieces” as Edith Van Dyne. Baum approached writing in a business-like manner, trying to reach a variety of target groups. He wrote adventurous novels for adults, such as "The Destiny of the Crown" (with a Brazilian flavor), "Daughters of Destiny" (set in Baluchistan, the protagonist is a Muslim), "The Last Egyptian". Baum sold series about Sam Steele and Aunt Jane's nieces to teenagers of different genders. For small children he had the irreplaceable Papa Goose. Baum even tried to replace “The Land of Oz” with another fantasy series, publishing “Sea Fairies” and “Sky Island” under his own name, but did not succeed. In the end it all came down to Oz; Baum even made it a habit to include characters from his other fairy tales, like “Queen Zixi of Country X” and “The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus,” so that the reader would be interested in these books too. At the same time, there is no need to talk about any coherence of the Oz cycle: Baum’s characters quickly change their appearance and past, even their names can be spelled differently.

Baum's attempt to invade SF territory was also not very successful: The Key to All Locks (1901), which the author called an "electric fairy tale", was barely noticed by critics. In the book, teenager Rob Joslin experiments with electricity, entangles his house in a “network of wires” and accidentally summons the Electricity Demon. It turns out that Rob touched the Electric Key to All Locks, and the Demon is obliged to fulfill nine of his wishes. Since Rob does not know what to ask from the Demon, he brings him six gifts of his choice.

Now, a hundred years later, we use two of the six gifts of the Demon - a small tube that shocks the offender with an electric shock, and a device that shows what happened in the world during the day. Other gifts still seem just as fantastic: a pill that is enough to satiate you for the whole day ahead, clothing that protects you from physical impact, a miniature levitator, and even a “character indicator” - a set of glasses that show what kind of person a person is. However, Baum’s fans believe that with these glasses he predicted “augmented reality,” that is, reality with virtual elements. Putting on glasses, Rob sees letters on a person’s forehead: K if the person is kind, C if he is cruel, W if he is wise, F if he is a fool, and so on.

One could admire the writer’s prognostic talent if it weren’t for the secondary nature of all the Demon’s gifts. After the advent of radio, only the lazy did not think about sending images (in 1884 Paul Nipkow proposed “mechanical television”, in 1907 Boris Rosing patented the cathode ray tube), other ideas were also in the air, and Baum could have borrowed glasses from Andersen’s fairy tale “ They can’t come up with anything.” Baum's fans are delighted with the wireless telephone described in the novel "Tik-Tok from Oz", but the trouble is that in the fairy tale itself it is lost among all sorts of Magic Binoculars, Magic Pictures and Magic Magnets. What’s really new in The Key to All Locks is the teenager’s refusal of the last three gifts: “Someone will think I’m a fool for giving up these inventions,” Rob thinks, “but I’m one of the people who knows when to stop. A fool is one who does not learn from his mistakes. I'm learning from myself, so I'm fine. It’s not easy to be ahead of your time by a century!” Such a critical attitude towards progress was rare before the First World War, especially in books for children.

INTERPRETATION OF OZ-VISIONS

Against the backdrop of Baum's massive literary failures, the runaway success of The Wizard of Oz is puzzling. How does this book appeal to readers? Over the past hundred years, attempts have been made to explain this phenomenon more than once or twice. Historians, theosophists, and Freudians have been involved in the interpretation of the fairy tale, especially pointing out that Freud’s book “The Interpretation of Dreams” was published in the same year as “The Sorcerer.” Baum’s fairy tale according to Freud looks unattractive: the starting point of Dorothy’s adventures is supposedly a scene, not described by Baum, in which a girl spies on adults at night, because they sleep in the same room: “In one corner there was a large bed of Uncle Henry and Aunt Em, and in the other - Dorothy's little bed." What she sees shocks Dorothy, and she projects her fear in the form of a tornado, which is very phallic in shape. Dorothy's conventional mother, Aunt Em, is split into two figures in the fairy tale - the Good Witch of the South and the Wicked Witch of the West, whom Dorothy crushes under the house. As for the conventional father, he, of course, becomes the Wizard himself, named Oz. The Emerald City, in which there are many vertical towers, as well as a broom, are symbols of everything that you are thinking about.

Then the Freudians move on to the silver slippers and the Wizard behind the screen... but, perhaps, enough mockery of the fairy tale: L. Frank Baum clearly did not mean anything like that. The same screen does not carry any secret meaning: in the Baums’ house it was customary to place a Christmas tree behind such screens, and Frank loved to talk with relatives while remaining “invisible.” Baum saw the yellow brick road with his own eyes in his youth, the Emerald City could have been inspired by the White City, built in Chicago in 1893, when the World's Fair was held there, and so on.

Historians interpret the fairy tale in their own way. Professor Henry Littlefield has theorized that The Wizard of Oz is a parable about populism in 1890s American politics. The Emerald City is the Capitol, the Wizard is the President of the United States, the Cowardly Lion is the leader of the populists William Jennings Bryan, the Woodcutter represents the proletarians, the Scarecrow represents the farmers. In the 1990s, economists further developed this theory: it is clear that the yellow brick road and silver shoes indicate the demand of populists to freely mint gold and silver coins. And the dog's name, Toto, refers to the word teetotaler, “teetotaler,” - supporters of the ban on alcohol were allies of the populists. Well, why the city is Emerald, that is, green, is clearer than clear: this is the color of American banknotes. Baum was a journalist, after all, he was well versed in politics. To which theosophists, proud that the author of The Wizard was interested in Theosophy, note that...

But maybe this is the key to the success of The Wizard of Oz? A simple story about a girl who wanted to return home, about her friends who lacked self-confidence, and about a Wizard who turned out to be an ordinary person, can be filled with any meaning if desired. Why not see in this fairy tale also a parable about fantastic literature? Judge for yourself: The Woodcutter symbolizes science fiction (essentially he is a cyborg), the Lion symbolizes fantasy (a talking animal), the Scarecrow symbolizes horror (with such and such a name). SF is often accused of having no heart, fantasy - that it is cowardly escapism, horror - that it is rarely smart. Well, The Wizard is, of course, great literature, the notorious bolitra, which in fact cannot give anything to anyone.