The wind was growing stronger, driving gray clouds across the sky, stirring the wheat in the field.
The pole-mounted scarecrow began to get very restless. After all, the wind will probably blow away the entire crop supply — and the owner will think that he, the Scarecrow, did not catch up! And how will you explain it to him if your mouth is painted with paint — and you can't even smile properly or make a grimace of your own accord, let alone explain something to people?
All that remained was to stand on the pole and watch the approaching storm warily. The Scarecrow had never seen a storm before, but he could not help but guess that such a wind was threatening trouble.
The storm did hit the Blue Country — though not as hard as Gingema had hoped. At any rate, the force of the wind was sufficient to break the pole on which the Scarecrow was sitting, and to throw the Scarecrow to the ground.
The Scarecrow's head was stuffed with straw — so that it was hard to believe that he was no longer sitting on the pole. His legs are free — does that mean he can go anywhere he wants? And what about the field he's supposed to guard like a decent scarecrow? However, as the Scarecrow looked around the field, he realized that there was not much to guard. Apparently, its owner will have to re-sow everything…
Then you need to get up on your feet — and go. Only where to go? The Scarecrow himself did not know this yet. But if you stayed where you were, you wouldn't get anywhere at all — even a scarecrow stuffed with straw could tell that. Put your right foot on the ground, as people do. And now what? Perhaps he should lean on it, as he had leaned on the pole he was sitting on before. No, I still can't get up. Maybe you need some more foothold? Like that rock over there?"
Fortunately, he has plenty of time to exercise.
Ellie woke up to Toto licking her face with his hot, wet tongue and grumbling. At first she thought she had had a wonderful dream, and she was about to tell her mother about it. But when she saw the overturned chairs and the stove on the floor, she knew it was real.
The girl jumped out of bed. The house wasn't moving, so the storm had already subsided. The sun was shining brightly through the window. Ellie ran to the door, flung it open, and uttered a cry of surprise.
The hurricane brought the van into a country of extraordinary beauty. All around was a green lawn, bordered by trees with ripe fruit; in the glades were beds of beautiful pink, white, and blue flowers. Tiny birds fluttered in the air, their bright plumage glittering. Golden-green and red-breasted parrots sat on the branches of the trees and shouted in high, strange voices. Not far away, a clear stream gurgled, and silver fish frolicked in the water.
Ellie had never seen such beauty in her life — there was almost nothing green in Kansas. Looking around, the girl screamed: on the ground near her house lay a knocked-out boy with a backpack on his back (it was Nikita). Ellie ran to him and asked:
"Are you alive?" Are you all right?"
The young man, who had begun to recover, grimaced.
"Oh, my head! he said, holding his head. — I feel like I've been drinking all day." And who are you?! he shouted, getting into a fighting stance when he saw the girl. — Where am I, anyway?"
"Hush, hush, calm down," Ellie said. — I don't know where we are.
"Wait a minute, are you English?" "What is it?" the young man asked.
"No, I'm from Kansas," the girl said. — Why do you ask?"
"I'm from Russia," Nikita said. — I know English, but I'm talking to you now as if it's my native language."
"I agree, it's weird," Ellie said. - By the way, can you introduce yourself?
"Yes, I'm sorry," Nikita replied, getting into a normal pose. — I was just scared." My name is Nikita Lukantsev — " he said, holding out his hand to Ellie. "And you?"
"Ellie Smith," the girl said, shaking hands.
— Who's that here?" Nikita asked when he saw Toto.
"And this is my dog Toto," Ellie said.
As the girl, the boy, and Toto stood hesitantly looking around, the funniest and cutest little people imaginable appeared from behind the trees. The men, dressed in blue velvet caftans and tight pantaloons, were about Ellie's height, but shorter than Nikita, and they wore shiny blue jackboots with lapels. But most of all, the children liked the pointed hats: their tops were decorated with crystal balls, and under the wide brim, silver bells gently tinkled.
An old woman in a white robe strutted ahead of the three men, tiny stars glittering on her pointed hat and on her robe. The old woman's gray hair fell over her shoulders. Perched on her right shoulder was a very small gray mouse wearing a blue T-shirt and boots.
In the distance, beyond the fruit trees, a whole crowd of small men and women could be seen; they stood whispering and looking at each other, but did not dare to go any closer.
As they approached the girl, the dog, and the boy, these timid little people smiled affably and somewhat fearfully at their friends, but the old woman looked at them with obvious perplexity. The three men moved forward in unison and took off their hats at once. "Ding-ding-ding!" the bells rang. Ellie noticed that the little men's jaws were constantly moving, as if they were chewing something.
The old lady turned to Ellie and Nikita:
"Tell me, how did you come to be in the land of the Munchkins, dear children?"
"I was brought here by a hurricane in this cabin," Ellie said.
"I was just blown away by a hurricane," Nikita said. "I sucked it in and brought it here."
"Strange, very strange! the old woman shook her head. — Now you will understand my perplexity. It was like this. I learned that the evil sorceress of Ginghama had lost her mind and wanted to destroy the human race and populate the earth with rats and snakes. And I had to use all my magic skills…
"A sorceress?" Ellie shouted. — What are you saying, my dear?" There are no wizards!
"I'll support Ellie," Nikita said. "There's no such thing as magic. There are technologies, but magic is just a fairy tale.
— How do you know there's no magic there?" — What is it? " the old woman asked.
"I'm from Kansas," Ellie said.
"I'm from Moscow," Nikita said.
— I've never heard of such names, " the sorceress said, pursing her lips. — But whatever you think, there are wizards and sages in this country. There were four of us sorceresses here. Two of us — the sorceress of the Yellow Country, this is me, Villina, and the sorceress of the Pink Country, Stella-are kind. And the sorceress of the Blue Land of Ginghama and her sister the sorceress of the Purple Land of Bastinda are very evil. Your house, girl, has crushed Gingham, and now there is only one evil sorceress left in our country.
Ellie was surprised. How could she, a little girl who hadn't even killed a sparrow in her life, destroy the evil sorceress? Nikita was also perplexed.
Ellie said:
"You're wrong, of course: I didn't kill anyone.
"I don't blame you for that," said the sorceress Willina calmly. — It was I who, in order to save people from harm, deprived the hurricane of its destructive power and allowed it to take only one house to throw it on the head of the treacherous Gingema, because I read in my magic book that it is always empty in a storm…
Ellie looked confused:
"It's true, Miss Villina, we hide in the hurricane cellar during hurricanes, but I ran to the cabin to get my dog…
— My magic book could never have foreseen such a reckless act!" - the sorceress Willina was upset. — So it's all this little beast's fault…
"Toto, with your permission, madame!" doggie suddenly broke in. "Yes, I'm sorry to say it's all my fault…
Nikita jumped in surprise.
"A talking dog?" — Stop it! " he shouted, his eyes bulging. — How is this possible?!
"What, you're talking, Toto?" Ellie exclaimed, equally surprised.
— I don't know how it works, Ellie, but I can't help but let the human words come out of my mouth."…
"You see, Ellie and Nikita," Willina explained — " in this wonderful country, not only people talk, but all the animals and even the birds. Look around, do you like our country?
"She's not bad," Ellie said. — But my house is better." You should see our barnyard! You should have looked at our Motley Bird! No, I want to go back to my homeland, to my mom and dad…
"And I'd like to go home," Nikita added. — My family is already very worried-I was dragged in by a hurricane that came from nowhere. How can you not worry?
"I don't think that's possible," the sorceress said. — Our country is separated from the rest of the world by a desert and huge mountains that no man has ever crossed. I am afraid, my dears, that you will have to stay with us.
Ellie's eyes filled with tears, and Nikita spat in anger and clenched his fists tightly. The good Munchkins were very upset, and they too began to cry, wiping their tears with blue handkerchiefs. The munchkins took off their hats and put them on the ground, so that the bells would not interfere with their sobbing.
Villina looked at the children guiltily. Her gaze fell on Nikita's left wrist. She grabbed it and asked:
— Where did you get the Omnitrix?"
The boy's expression immediately changed. Snatching the wrist from Villina's hand and telling his new friends to move away, Nikita activated the Omnitrix, selected the image of the Four Arms, but did not transform.
— How do you know about Omnitrix?" Was he being hunted in this land that Zeus had forgotten?
"No, no one's after him," Willina said. — It's just that there are legends about many artifacts in our country, and Omnitrix is one of the most famous.
Nikita calmed down and deactivated the watch. Ellie didn't know what he was talking about, but she decided to ask him about it later.
— Can I ask you something else?" Nikita said.
- Of course, ask.
— How do we understand each other? We speak English, but I'm from Russia, my native language is completely different!
"That's how it is," said Willina. — You see, the Magic Land is surrounded by a special dome that sets all the brains to one language — English, as you call it.
"So that's it," Ellie said. — Now everything is clear.
"Very well. But now you need to understand how the hurricane brought you here, Nikita, because I did not give him such a command, " Villina said.
— How is that?" Nikita asked. — How is it that you didn't give such an order?!
"I didn't order it to split in two," Willina said. "Just relax and take Ellie's cabin."
— Then how did it happen?" Ellie asked. — Whose handiwork is this?"
"Perhaps I can explain it —" said a voice from behind.
Ellie and Nikita whirled around. A large tiger with greenish fur appeared out of thin air in front of them. It looked almost like an ordinary tiger, but it was larger, with green fur instead of orange, and its eyes showed the presence of wisdom.
— Who are you?" Nikita asked.
"My name is Elemental Tiger," the unexpected guest introduced himself. — I am an elemental spirit in tiger form. I have the powers of the six elements: Fire, Lightning, Ice, Earth, Water, and Wind. Seven hundred years ago, I was created by a good wizard. I am the guardian of Fairyland. It was I who changed the strength of the hurricane so that it split in two and brought Nikita to Magic Land.
— But why?" Toto said, puzzled.
"The spirits of nature can see into the near future," said the Tiger. — When I saw Hurricane Gingema, I used this ability. I saw Nikita next to you, Ellie. I also saw your distant future. You are destined to do noble things before you return home, and after that, each of you will have a great future. That's all I can say.
The children were shocked. It's no joke — a day ago they are torn out of their usual life and thrust into some Magical land.
— And you won't help us at all?" Ellie asked Willina sadly.
"Oh, yes," said Willina, " I had forgotten that I had my magic book with me. You should look at it: maybe I'll read something useful for you there…
Willina took a tiny book the size of a thimble from the folds of her clothes. The sorceress blew on it, and before the eyes of the surprised and slightly frightened friends, the book began to grow, grow, and turned into a huge volume. It was so heavy that the old lady laid it on a large rock.
Willina looked at the pages of the book, and they turned over themselves under her gaze.
- I found it, I found it! "Bambara, chufara, skoriki, moriki, turabo, furabo, loriki, yeriki!" the sorceress suddenly exclaimed, and began to read slowly: "Bambara, chufara, skoriki, moriki, turabo, furabo, loriki, yeriki… The great wizard Goodwin will bring home a little girl, a dog and a boy, brought to his country by a hurricane, if they help five creatures to achieve the fulfillment of their most cherished desires, pickup, tricap, botalo, motalo…»
"Pickup, trikap, botalo, motalo..." the Munchkins repeated in holy horror.
"Who's Goodwin?" Ellie asked.
"Oh, this is the greatest Sage of our country," the old woman whispered. — He is more powerful than all of us, and lives in the Emerald City.
— Is he evil or kind?" Nikita asked.
"No one knows. But do not be afraid, find the five creatures, fulfill their cherished desires, and the Wizard of Oz will help you return to your countries!
— And where is the Emerald City?" Toto asked.
— It's in the middle of the country. The Great Sage and Wizard Goodwin built it himself and manages it. But he surrounded himself with an extraordinary mystery, and no one saw him after the construction of the city, and it ended many, many years ago.
— How do we get to the Emerald City?" Ellie asked.
- The road is far away. Not everywhere the country is as good as here. There are dark forests with scary animals, there are fast rivers — crossing them is dangerous…
— Will you come with us?" Nikita asked.
"No, my friends," said Willina. — I can't leave the Yellow Country for long. You must go alone. The road to the Emerald City is paved with yellow bricks, and you will not get lost. When you go to Goodwin, ask him for help.
"Wait!" "What is it?" the mouse on Willina's shoulder suddenly cried. — I want to go with you!"
— Who are you?" Toto asked.
"I'm Taffy, the Munchkin mouse," said Taffy. — All my life I've been humiliated because of my small stature. I'd like to ask Goodwin for a bit more height. Yes, and I went here to see if anyone could help me.
"Well, that's the first creature you've got," said Villina.
"How long do we have to stay here, Miss Villina?" Ellie asked, lowering her head.
"I don't know," said Willina. — It doesn't say anything about that in my magic book. Go, search, fight! I'll check the magic book from time to time to see how you're doing.… Good-bye, my dears!
Willina gently pushed Taffy down and bent over the huge book, which immediately shrank to the size of a thimble and disappeared into the folds of her robe. A whirlwind came, it became dark, and when the darkness cleared, Willina was no longer there: the sorceress had disappeared. Ellie, Nikita, and the Munchkins trembled with fear, and the bells on the little people's hats rang of their own accord.
When everyone had calmed down a little, the boldest of the Munchkins, their foreman, turned to Ellie:
"A powerful fairy! We welcome you and your companions to the Blue Land! You killed the evil Gingema and freed the Munchkins!
Ellie said:
— That's very kind of you, but there's a mistake: I'm not a fairy. And you have heard that my house fell on Ginghama on the orders of the sorceress Willina…
"We don't believe that," said Sergeant Munchkin stubbornly. — We heard you talking to the good witch, Botalo, motalo, but we think you're a very powerful fairy, too. After all, only fairies can travel through the air in their houses, and only a fairy could free us from the evil Gingema, the evil sorceress of the Blue Country. You have a strange black animal with you, and your friend has a legendary Omnitrix on his wrist. Ginghama ruled us for many years and made us work day and night…
— She made us work day and night!" The Munchkins said in unison.
— She ordered spiders and bats to be caught, frogs and leeches to be collected. These were her favorite dishes…
"And we," wept the Munchkins, " are very much afraid of spiders and leeches!"
— What are you crying about, you fools?" Nikita asked. "It's all gone!"
"Really, really! The munchkins laughed together, and the bells on their hats tinkled.
"The mighty Lady Ellie! the foreman spoke up. "Do you want to be our lady instead of Gingema?" We are sure that you are very kind and will not punish us too often!..
"No," Ellie said, — I'm just a little girl, and I'm not fit to be the ruler of the country. If you want to help us, give us the opportunity to fulfill your cherished wishes!
— We had only one wish-to get rid of the evil Gingema, pick-up, tricapoo! But your house is a krak! krak! "crushed her, and we have no more wishes!".. the foreman said.
"Then we have nothing to do here. Let's go look for those who have desires. But my shoes are very old and ragged — they won't last a long journey. Really, friends? Ellie asked the others.
"Of course they won't," Toto agreed. "But don't worry, Ellie, I saw something nearby and I'll help you!"
"You?" - the girl was surprised.
"Yes, I am!" said Toto proudly, and disappeared into the trees. A moment later, he returned with a beautiful silver shoe in his mouth and laid it solemnly at Ellie's feet. A gold buckle glittered on the shoe.
— Where did you get it from?" Taffy asked.
— I'll tell you!" — Yes, " said the little dog, out of breath, and disappeared, and came back again with another shoe.
"How lovely!" Ellie said admiringly, and tried on the shoes, " they fit her foot just right, as if they were made for her.
"When I was scouting," Toto began gravely, " I saw a big black hole in the mountain behind the trees…
"Ay-ay-ay! The Munchkins screamed in horror. — This is the entrance to Gingema's cave!" And you dared to go in there?..
— What's the big deal?" After all, Gingema is dead! Toto objected.
— You must be a wizard, too!" — What is it? " said the sergeant-major fearfully; all the other Munchkins nodded their heads in agreement, and the silver bells under their hats began to ring together in a melodious way.
— There, when I entered this cave, as you call it, I saw a lot of funny and strange things, but most of all I liked the shoes standing at the entrance. Some big birds with terrible yellow eyes tried to prevent me from taking the shoes, but would Toto be afraid of anything when he wanted to serve his Ellie? But there are still so many interesting things left…
"Oh, my dear brave fellow! Ellie exclaimed, and gently hugged the dog to her chest. — I can walk as long as I want in these shoes…
"Listen, friend," Nikita said. "Show me this cave, and see if we can use anything from there."
"Let's go," Toto said, and together with Nikita disappeared into the cave.
"It's a good thing you got the evil Gingema shoes," the elder Munchkin said to Ellie. — There seems to be magic in them, because Gingham only wore them on the most important occasions." But we don't know what kind of power it is… And yet you are leaving us, gracious Mistress Ellie? the foreman asked with a sigh. — Then we'll get you and your friends something to eat on the way."
The Munchkins left, but Ellie, Taffy, and Tiger stayed. Tiger expressed his desire to go with the company, because he was the reason why Nikita came to the Magical Land. Ellie carefully closed the van door and wrote on it in chalk: "I'm not home." Suddenly Nikita shouted from the cave:
— Where did this hag get such a thing?"
Ellie, Taffy, and Tiger ran to the cave and saw Nikita raising a beautiful sword above his head. It was made of the same silver as Ellie's shoes, and it shone brightly in the bright sun.
"Now I'll have something to fight off my enemies with if the Omnitrix runs out of power."
"What's an Omnitrix, anyway?" Ellie and Toto asked.
"The Omnitrix is an alien device that contains the DNA of creatures from different planets, galaxies, and even universes. Nikita said. — It allows the owner to become an alien. It was invented by some alien genius. I've only got 12 aliens open so far, but I think there will be more.
— If that's the case, maybe you can take us to the Emerald City." Taffy asked.
"I'm sorry, but it won't work," Nikita replied, disappointed. — I can only be in alien form for ten minutes. I've got speed and flying aliens, but they won't help us. I can't get very far alone in ten minutes, and carrying you is out of the question.
Nikita belted his sword. He also found a bow and a quiver of arrows in the cave and put it on his back. Meanwhile, the Munchkins had returned. They brought in enough food to last the company for several years. There were sheep, roast geese, ducks, and a basket of fruit…
Ellie said with a laugh:
— Well, where do we need so much, my friends?
She put some bread and fruit in the basket, and Nikita put bread, fruit and meat in his backpack, the friends said goodbye to the Munchkins and set off. But before they had gone ten meters, they heard a commotion and shouting:
"A crow! Grab her! Catch it!
Nikita saw not far away a black-and-gray crow being chased by the boys. Munchkins are kind and peaceful people. But children are children, they love to be naughty and mischievous everywhere.
"Hey, you!" shouted Nikita menacingly. "Leave the bird alone, or I won't answer for myself!"
Nikita looked so menacing that the Munchkin boys were startled and ran away.
"Come here, little bird," Nikita said gently. — I won't hurt you…
The crow looked at him incredulously, then dropped to the ground and approached the friends.
"Thank you, boy," said the crow. "Let me introduce myself: Kaggi-Karr!"
"Nice to meet you," Nikita said politely. — My name is Nikita, and these are my friends: Ellie, Toto, Taffy, and the Elemental Tiger. We're going to the Emerald City to have the great wizard Goodwin bring me, Ellie, and Toto home and give Taffy a new growth. Do you want to come with us?
The crow thought about it:
— I don't have anything to ask of Goodwin, but I'd love to keep you company."
And Kaggi-Karr sat on Nikita's shoulder. After that, the company moved forward.
In the Purple Palace, Bastinda was beginning to get bored. She had not heard from her sister, the Gingemas, for some time, and she did not consider her servants, the Winkies, to be good and worthy companions.
For the sake of entertainment, the sorceress planned to arrange a court ballet, at which the Sabertoothed Tigers caught by her a year ago were supposed to dance for her. A saber-toothed Tiger dancing on its hind legs is always fun. Bastinda was just about to announce her will to the obedient Tigers — to come to the palace no later than this evening, and so that everyone would have time to prepare their own dance number-when a crow with an iron beak flew in through the window, clearly worried about something.
"Lady!" the crow barely managed to catch her breath. "Please don't order me to be boiled in soup for the words I tell you now. Your sister is dead. The house of a girl named Ellie fell on her head just as she was casting a spell. This is a terrible event, Lady-but I am not to blame, forgive me…
No, Bastinda wasn't going to cook the crow in the soup — for the reason that she didn't eat liquid food. But the news made her furious. She didn't love her sister that much — in fact, she didn't love her at all — but she was outraged that some girl had managed to ruin a powerful sorceress.
No one would have guessed from Bastinda's voice what was going on inside her. "Give my will to all who serve evil in Magic Land — to have this wicked girl put to death." Tell the Kanniball, the Sabertoothed Tigers, the Kalidas, the giant spiders. Do you know where this ... Ellie is now?"
"Ellie is in the Blue Country," said the crow. — She went to the Emerald City with a strange black animal, a small gray mouse, a crow, a boy who came with her, and an Elemental Tiger. That's all I know — it's a long way off! The other crows gave me the news myself. But I will do your bidding, Lady.
After letting go of the crow, Bastinda tried to get back to her planned event, the tiger ballet. But today she couldn't concentrate on the striped dancers. Nor did she relish the thought that Sabertoothed Tigers were so submissive to her — it was far from easy to subdue a predator, especially a predator from the cat family. Shoes and a sword, she needs her sister's shoes and a sword… I wish this Ellie and this boy didn't want other people's goods, because people are such scoundrels.
But you have to be patient. She had enough spies in Fairyland.
On the way to the Blue Country, the crow managed to gather a considerable army of its own kind. And now a whole flock of crows was rushing towards the girl Ellie and her friends. If you consider that the crows that served Bastinda had steel beaks — then there was almost no chance for the company to survive.
Not far from the house there was a crossroads: several roads diverged here. They chose a road paved with yellow bricks and walked briskly along it. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the girl and the boy, abandoned in an amazing foreign country, felt quite good.
The road was enclosed on both sides by beautiful blue hedges. Beyond them were cultivated fields. Here and there were round houses. Their roofs were like the pointed hats of Munchkins. Crystal balls glittered on the roofs. The houses were painted blue.
Small men and women were working in the fields, taking off their hats and bowing affably to Ellie and her friends. After all, every Munchkin now knew that the girl in the silver shoes and her companions had freed their country from the evil sorceress by lowering their house-krak! krak! "right on her head."
All the Munchkins that met their friends on the way looked at Toto with fearful surprise and, hearing Toto's barking, covered their ears. When the jolly little dog ran up to one of the Munchkins, it ran away from him at full speed: there were no dogs at all in Goodwin's country.
In the evening, when the whole party, except for the Elemental Tiger, who did not need food, water, or sleep, were hungry and wondering where they would spend the night, they saw a large and beautiful house by the road. Small men and women were dancing on the front lawn. The musicians played hard on small violins, flutes, and guitars. There were also small children playing around, so tiny that Ellie and Nikita opened their eyes in huge amazement: they looked like ordinary dolls. On the terrace were long tables with vases full of fruits, nuts, sweets, delicious pies and large cakes.
Seeing Ellie from afar, a handsome, tall old man came out of the crowd of dancers (he was a full finger taller than Ellie, but half a head shorter than Nikita) and said with a bow:
— My friends and I are celebrating today the liberation of our country from the evil sorceress. Do I dare to ask the powerful Fairy of the Killing House and her companions to participate in our feast?
"What makes you think I'm a fairy?"
— You have crushed the evil Gingema-krak!" krak! — like an eggshell; you're wearing her magical silver shoes; you're carrying an amazing beast like we've never seen before, and according to our friends, he's also gifted with magical powers; you're carrying a legendary Elemental Tiger and a boy with an Omnitrix and a magical silver sword."…
To this Ellie could not say anything to the new acquaintance, and the company followed the old man, whose name was Prem Kokus. The friends were greeted like real kings, and the silver bells rang incessantly, and there were endless dances, and a great many cakes were eaten and countless soft drinks were drunk, and the whole evening was so fun and pleasant that Ellie and Nikita remembered their relatives only when they fell asleep in their beds.
In the morning, after a hearty breakfast, Ellie and Nikita asked Prem Kokus:
— How far is it from here to the Emerald City?"
"I don't know," the old man said thoughtfully to the children. — I've never been there. It's best to stay away from Goodwin, especially if you don't have important business with him. And the road to the Emerald City is long and difficult. You will have to pass through dark, dense forests and cross fast rivers.
Ellie and Nikita were a little disappointed at the answer, but they knew that only the Great Goodwin would bring them home, so they said goodbye to the Munchkins, woke up their friends, and set off again along the yellow brick road.