Dorothy's eyes flew open. "W-what happened? Where am I?" she wondered groggily. Her surroundings looked familiar, but something definitely felt different. Wait—that's what it was: the eerie silence. Normally the farm was bustling, with noises from all sorts of activities. Dorothy felt as if cotton had been shoved in her ears, like Auntie Em used to do for her during thunderstorms when Dorothy was just a wee one.
Her curiosity finally got the better of her, and she hopped out of bed to investigate. Pausing a moment, as she had jumped up rather quickly, she waited until her dizziness passed. Toto, who had been snoring away at the foot of her bed, leaped into her arms. "What is going on?" Dorothy asked, as if Toto perhaps knew the answer. Grabbing Toto's basket, she stepped outside.
The scene that greeted her was like nothing she had ever seen before in her life. "Well, Toto, this certainly isn't Kansas!" Dorothy exclaimed. Instead of the familiar barnyard, her eyes beheld a strange countryside. It had the look of neglect, as if it had once possessed great beauty, but no longer. The hills, though very picturesque, were overgrown with weeds and thistles. A dry creek bed wound its way down through the hills, passing under a bridge to her right. Dead and dying trees were scattered over the land, and the smell of decay wafted over to Dorothy. The only sound was the groan of trees as the wind swept through the valley…but what was that? It couldn't be…but it was! Dorothy heard the unmistakable noise of excited whispering coming from behind a nearby bush.
"Hello?" Dorothy called. "Who's there?"
At the sound of her voice, three children stepped into view. Giggling and whispering among themselves, they slowly approached Dorothy. The yellow-skinned people were dressed quite oddly, wearing pointed green hats and curly-toed shoes with bells attached. As they drew nearer, Dorothy could see that they weren't children at all, but had the faces of old men. "Who are you? Where am I?" queried Dorothy.
One of the little people stepped forward, and offered in a deep, booming voice, "Welcome to the Land of Oz, O Great One! We are Winkies, here at your service, though we can never repay you for what you have done!" The Winkie bowed low before Dorothy.
"B-but-but I haven't done anything!" cried Dorothy. "I only just woke up several moments ago, and I have no idea how I got here. Whatever are you talking about?"
The Winkie replied, "You have killed the Wicked Witch of the West, who has enslaved my people for centuries. Now we are free! Look there, your house has landed on her, and she is dead. Come, we will introduce you to the others!"
Speechless and completely unable to protest or deny her hand in the apparent murder of the Witch, Dorothy allowed herself to be led by the Winkies into the center of town. The Winkie in charge of the posse waddled into the middle of the little village and cried, "HEAR YE, HEAR YE! THE WICKED WITCH IS DEAD! SHE WAS KILLED BY THIS—What is your name, dear?!" ("Dorothy" she supplied) "DOROTHY OF—Where do you come from?" ("Kansas") "DOROTHY OF KANSAS! BEHOLD, OUR HEROINE!"
By this time quite a crowd had grown around the Winkie. Dorothy stared in awe at the strange-looking group of little people. At the end of the Winkie's announcement, the crowd went wild with celebration. The whole situation was almost too much for young Dorothy. Tears welled up in her eyes as she thought of Uncle Henry and Auntie Em. Were they worried about her? How ever would she get home from this strange and terrible place? Where was home?
Just as she was working herself into a complete mess, yet another strange thing caught her eye. A huge pink bubble, growing larger as it grew closer, had appeared on the horizon. Dorothy watched, transfixed, as a human form took shape inside the bubble. It came to rest right beside her, and the bubble popped to reveal a beautiful woman in a pink gown, holding a wand. "Hello, Dorothy. I am Glinda, the Witch of the North. Thank you for setting the Winkies free from bondage. As a gesture of gratitude, I'd like to help you in any way I can."
"Oh thank you!" By this time, Dorothy was totally discombobulated and, having never been this far from home before, very homesick. "I just want to go home. Is there any way you can you help me?"
"Of course," came the warm reply. "This is what you need to do…"
