Abducted to Oz

  CHAPTER TWO:

  HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

  Now, in the event that this book may have fallen into the hands ofsomeone who is unfamiliar with the marvelous Land of Oz, it seemsfitting that an explanation be inserted right about here. Oz is anoblong-shaped country that is surrounded on all sides by a vast DeadlyDesert that is supposed to keep visitors out. Even so, it has beenvisited by any number of American children prior to Graham's visit. Somecame by way of invitation, but mostly they arrived by accident. The mostfamous of these visitors, of course, was little Dorothy Gale. Dorothytraveled to Oz via a powerful cyclone which carried her house andherself over the massive desert and plopped her on top of a particularlyevil Witch. With the help of a live Scarecrow, a man made out of tin,and a Cowardly Lion, she was able to find her way back to her home inAmerica. She returned a short time later and had a wonderful new seriesof adventures in which she met Princess Saari, Gayelette, and even someFuzzy Yellow Wogglebugs. It was but a few years after that when littleDorothy finally consented to become a citizen of Oz and live therehappily--or reasonably so--for many years thereafter. In fact, evenafter nearly eighty-five years, she remains an honorary princess of thatlovely country. Because no one has to ever grow old or die in thissingular land, Dorothy remains as young and innocent as on the day shefirst arrived. At one point, Dorothy was joined by a fine young boynamed Button-Bright, who was about as bright as a cloth-covered button.Trot Griffiths, Betsy Bobbin, and several others have also agreed tolive the rest of their days in Oz rather than returning home to themortal lands, where illness and death and aging are common.

  Because Oz citizens only age when they wish to do so, on one's birthdayall one is required to do is to wish to stay the same age for anotheryear, and it will be so. This would certainly please most of the peoplein our mortal lands, but it would hardly be practical here due to theever-increasing overpopulation problem.

  The Land of Oz is divided into five sections. To the North is theGillikin territory. The Gillikins favor the color purple above allothers and are known to paint their homes, barns, and silos in thiscolor. To the South lies the land of the Quadlings. Here, the reveredcolor is red. The area is governed by a powerful but Good Witch namedGlinda, and Glinda is considered an enemy to all of the evil Witches.The very center is the Emerald City. It has been called the mostglorious place on the face of the earth (or even the moon or Mars), andrightly so. It is so lovely, in fact, that it defies description. And itis from here that the overall ruler is able to reign above all fiveregions.

  In the West can be found the yellow Winkie Country. The Emperor of thisregion is none other than Nick Chopper, the tin man who had befriendedDorothy on her first visit to Oz. To the East is the blue MunchkinCountry. Here, all of the things that the Gillikins paint purple arepainted blue. This is the region where little Dorothy's house had fallendown atop the Wicked Witch of the East. And it was this incident thathad caused the Wicked Witch of the West to take notice of the littlegirl. So wicked was this Witch, in fact, that she sent a host of plaguesin the hope that they would destroy poor Dorothy and her companions. Shelashed out with her flesh-eating gray wolves, her sinister crows, andher horrific stinging bees. But it was not until she called upon herMarvelous Flying Monkeys that she was able to succeed in her goal. Themonkeys, enslaved by the powers of a magical hat, destroyed theScarecrow and tin man and enslaved Dorothy and the Lion.

  Oz history would have been dismal, indeed, had Dorothy not splashed abucket of water over the Wicked Witch, wetting her from head to foot. AsWitches and water do not mix very well, the evil woman was reduced tonothing more than a puddle of ugly liquid. With the help of some kindlyWinkie tinsmiths and seamstresses, Dorothy was able to retrieve herfriends and bring happiness back to Oz. Had she desired to live therethen, she would have had a welcoming home with any or all of thecitizens of Oz, even the Scarecrow, who was made ruler over all theland. The Scarecrow was a good and honest king--a thing that rarelyhappens in the mortal lands--but was not to stay long in that position.Instead, he had gladly handed over his crown to the rightful ruler ofOz, Princess Ozma. Even though she is but a child, Ozma has become themost well-loved ruler in all the earth. Citizens of Oz love her like asister, while children of other countries who read Oz books yearn toleave their homes to go to that wonderful country to be near to her.

  Of course, Oz is a very big place. But if all of us who wished to gothere were suddenly whisked away on a cyclone of our own, it wouldsurely become decidedly too crowded. So it is good for Oz that we aremade to stay here except on the rare occasion when Ozma may call uponone of us, or one of us may find Oz by accident.