Author Notes - Merry Christmas! Or, Merry-Whatever-Day-You're-Reading-This-On! Just because I could, I decided to write a little Christmas-themed poem for the holidays, starring our favourite Ozians/Ozmites. Partially inspired by T'Was the Night Before Christmas, which gets referenced a couple of times but otherwise wasn't really used as a base or anything like that.

As previously started, this takes place in a sort of movie-and-book universe. The main characters (like Dorothy and Scarecrow) are the '39 incarnations of themselves, while just about every other character and location comes straight from the book. There's also some references to other Oz media, so see if you can spot them! (References mentioned at the end)

(Also, I really don't ship Dorothy/Scarecrow, since I prefer Scarecrow/Tin Man, but you could honestly get romance out of this story if you wanted)

THE PERFECT GIFT FOR DOROTHY

T'was the day before Christmas, and all through the land
All the citizens of Oz were preparing something grand
And you could hear every Emerald citizen yelling out the same call,
'It's almost time for the most wonderful holiday of all!'

The Emerald City's decorations were hung up with care
In the hopes that Glinda and Queen Ozma would soon be there
In fact, the lights and stars were so shiny and pretty
That they outshined even the gorgeous Emerald City!

Scarecrow was confused, since he was only a few months old
So of this most wondrous holiday he had to be told
Of holly and tinsel and bells and carols most pleasant
And, of course, loads and loads of beautifully wrapped presents!

'Now this sounds like beeea-uiful holiday!' He said to himself
'With a holiday like this, Dorothy will be as happy as… an elf!
Whatever that is…' But then an idea popped to his wonderful brain
A present would make Dorothy happy all over again!

But what kind of present could possibly be good enough?
Coming up with the right gift was going to be tough
Even with his wise brains, he came up with nothing
Which was a problem, because he needed something

So, not telling Dorothy, he asked his lovely fair queen
For only someone like Ozma could properly intervene
'Oh Scarecrow,' She said. 'Surely someone so smart
Would know the best gift, comes from the heart!'

Scarecrow did not get the message that Ozma intended
He had missed the point that she had recommended
'If that's true,' He said. 'That gifts come from the heart…
Then that means Tin Man would be a great place to start!'

'Wait, Scarecrow, that's not quite what I meant!' Ozma said
But Scarecrow had already run out of the castle instead
For he wanted to give Dorothy the best gift in the land
And he knew his metal friend would lend him a hand

'Pie-Plates,' He said. 'I need to give Dorothy a most wonderful present
My need to make her happy, as you can tell, is quite incessant
But good gifts come from the heart, as Ozma told me,
And you have the best heart of all, we can all agree.'

Of course, Tin Man already knew this wouldn't work
But his friend's requests were not something he'd shirk
'If you need my help,' He said, 'Then I'll gladly give it
And make sure that you get Dorothy the most perfect gift.'

But before they could leave or even plot a course
They needed to go find a certain wooden horse
'I'll need some help,' Tin Man said. 'To navigate that snow,'
Snow is just a fancy word for water, you know!'

They needed to a board a big red wooden sleigh
So the Sawhorse could carry them through the snow and away
That way, they could avoid a bad case of the rust
And Sawhorse moved so fast he left everyone in the dust!

The first thing Scarecrow thought of was something quite beautiful
For only something lovely would be for Dorothy so suitable!
Thus, Sawhorse brought them to the country of Dainty China People
Since that was the best place for beautiful present retrieval

Scarecrow wanted a lovely ornament made entirely of glass
Because that was a gift with a little bit of class
But the moment Tin Man set foot in such a fragile place…
*CRA-ACK!* *TINKLE TINKLE* 'Oh my…!'
He ended up breaking every house, farm, and vase!

The China princess yelled, 'Get out of our country, you big metal fool!
Just because of you, I've had to make a new rule:
All metal people are now banned, so you'd better get out!'
So Scarecrow and Tin Man were forced to go without…

The only other pretty ornaments were those of the Nome King
But there was no way that guy would give up his bling
It forced Scarecrow to come up with a new clever plan
Which would no doubt annoy a certain Tin Man

A nicely baked cake could never be beaten
But the citizens of Bunbury did not like to be eaten
An adorable rabbit would certainly make a nice pet
But that would've made the Bunnybury King quite upset

'Let's try Dr Pipt!' Scarecrow said, after much thinking
'I'm not sure if it'll work, but I think I have an inkling
That Dorothy would love some genuine Powder of Life!'
So the Sawhorse took them to Dr Pipt and his wife

But when they arrived, they were met with disappointment
You see, the Powder of Life was a hard-to-make ointment
'Ya see, boys, I can't do that,' explained the Crooked Magician
'Because it'd take seven years to fulfill such a condition!'

Scarecrow left Dr Pipt's workshop feeling rather sad
How could his attempts keep ending up so bad?
It made Tin Man sad too, because of his wonderful heart
In fact, seeing his friend upset almost tore him apart

'I know you can do it, Scarecrow,' He said. 'You've got a good brain
I know you'll make sure this journey will not be in vain.'
So though it seemed the mission had ended up in a lurch
Scarecrow was not going to put a stop to his search

Maybe they could get the fruit the Dama Trees bared
But they were stopped by a swarm of invisible bears!
'Now really,' Scarecrow said. 'Don't you think that's a really bad rhyme?'
'I agree…' Tin Man said. 'But I don't think that now is the time!'

A bouquet of lovely poppies seemed like they'd be nice
But they weren't so good underneath all that snow and ice
Though, perhaps, that ended up being for the best
Since Scarecrow didn't want to give her a permanent rest!

From Jinxland to Ev and Ix and even Fuddlecumjig
A visit to Billina and Tik-Tok and nine tiny pigs
Scarecrow and Tin Man had covered almost the whole land
Up to and including the lands past the enchanted sands

No matter how much they travelled down the yellow brick trail
It seemed like Scarecrow's plans had been doomed to fail
After so long, his desires had not been met
So long, in fact, that the sun had begun to set

Tin Man watched the setting sun and turned to his friend
'I'm sorry, Scarecrow,' He said, 'But our journey must end…
We haven't got the gift yet, but it's already getting late
I'm afraid to say that the present will just have to wait.'

This unfortunate news made Scarecrow quite upset
Since he was certain he would find that perfect gift yet
But his tin friend was right, and he said and he sighed,
'Well, I'm sure Dottie will be happy to know that I tried…'

So Sawhorse turned around and made way for the city
While Scarecrow sat there, getting Tin Man's love and pity
The straw man wished he could get a gift for his friend
But he had failed, and it was time for the journey to end

But, as they approached the shining city of green
The storm whipped up to a level Scarecrow had never seen
The air grew colder as the sun set behind the hills
Giving our heroes a case of the shivers and the chills

Sawhorse carried on through the approaching night
Since he was going to get them back to the city alright
He yelled, 'Y'all better hold on tight cos it's gettin' tough!
Ah'll go as fast as Ah can, but Ah don't know if it'll be enough…'

Scarecrow's straw shivered and shook underneath his clothes
And Tin Man could've sworn that was a snowflake on his nose
'We better hurry up,' He told Sawhorse, 'Before the snow gets here
'Or I'll become a rusted-over mess, I fear.'

The wooden horse thus galloped away as fast as lightning
As every area of land was consumed by soft whitening
Tin Man could already hear his joints begin to squeak
And Scarecrow thought about what he had failed to seek

Sawhorse went so fast, in fact, that they were in for a shock
When the sleigh shook and banged against a rock
Although the wooden horse still did not go slow…
'WOAH!' 'PIE-PLATES!'
Tin Man fell out and landed smack dab in the snow!

'PIE-PLATES!' Scarecrow yelled, though it did not do a thing
Seeing his friend lost in the snow had left quite the sting
The shiny man had drifted further and further away
As Scarecrow went for a ride in the Sawhorse open sleigh

Tin Man could feel the snow already rusting his joints and skin
What a bad time, it seemed, to be made entirely of tin
In mere seconds, he couldn't move no matter how hard he tried
He wanted to shiver, but even that he had been denied

Sawhorse didn't stop, dead set on returning to the heat
And all Scarecrow could do was frown and sit on his seat
'My friend's gonna turn to rust,' He said. 'And it's all my fault!
Now I've brought the holiday cheer to a screeching halt!'

What had he done, he wondered as Sawhorse ran away
It hadn't even arrived, and he had already ruined Christmas Day!
With one of their closest friends lost in the snowy abyss
How would Dorothy ever forgive him for something like this?

As he approached Emerald City, he suddenly smiled
He could get Dorothy to free their friend from the snowy wild!
That clever little girl always knew what to do
And her Ruby Slippers would make the task a breeze too!

He made a beeline for Dorothy to tell her the bad news
To get help from her and her shiny red shoes
'Tin Man's lost in the snow,' He said. 'And liable to rust!
You have to come and save him. You will. You must!'

Dorothy had some questions, but they would come later
For the importance of Tin Man and his safety was greater
Using Ozma's magic painting to find the right spot
Dorothy hopped in the sleigh and told the Sawhorse to 'TROT!'

She found the poor metal man in no time at all
Already rusted and frozen from his nasty fall
With great difficulty, she dragged his freezing body into the sleigh
And with a click of her heels, they were all off and away!

Poor Tin Man was frozen and rusty to his funnel to his toes
Any longer out there, and he ought to decompose
With one simple yell of the word 'KRIZZLE-KROO!'
The Woozy warmed him up and defrosted him through and through

While Dorothy oiled Tin Man, Scarecrow felt so bad
Seeing what he had done had left him so sad!
They wrapped Tin Man up so he wouldn't be freezing
But the lad had been so cold that now, he couldn't stop sneezing

(He didn't even know he could get sick anymore, frankly)

'Oh, it's all my fault!' Scarecrow cried, admitting it to the girl
'I just wanted to give you the best Christmas gift in the world!
But I found nothing, and I know you won't disagree…
This holiday is ruined all because of me!'

To his surprise, his little friend had a smile on her face
He was even more surprised when she gave him an embrace
'But…' He said. 'I got Tin Man sick, and I have nothing to give you
Do you not realise what I have put you all through?'

Despite his odd illness, Tin Man managed a laugh
He said, 'Oh come on, Scarecrow, you can't be so daft
I'm fine with being sick, and Dorothy's happy too
Because the greatest gift of all is to be here with… AH-CHOO!'

Dorothy smiled and said, 'What Tin Man means to say…
Is that you didn't have to get me anything for Christmas Day
The best Christmas gift - and I'm sure you know it's true
Would be to spend the whole day with all of you!'

Now, suddenly, Scarecrow understood what Ozma had meant
Christmas wasn't the holly, or the snow, or even a lovely present
It was about being with each other, loving heart-to-heart
Why, Scarecrow couldn't believe he didn't know that from the start!

He laughed and said, 'How could I be so silly and blind?
I'd have figured this out if I only listened to my mind…'
'Well, to be fair, this is more of a heart thing,' Dorothy said,
'Tin Man's the one with the heart; you got a brain instead.'

It was getting late, so all the flesh people went to bed
While visions of wizards and fairies danced in their heads
Scarecrow and Tin Man spent the night chatting away
And, before they knew it, it was already Christmas Day!

Almost everyone in Oz had gathered into the glorious city
And their presence managed to make the place even more pretty!

Scraps the Patchwork Girl sung carols on the streets
Bringing joy to anyone who had heard her jolly beats
'I must say,' Billina clucked. 'This is a great first Christmas in Oz
It's so much better than my old farm ever was!'

It was the Woozy's first Christmas with anyone around
The Musicker and the Phonograph filled the air with sound
The Shaggy Man had no use for his little Love Magnet
For he was receiving the most love he ever had yet

Polychrome came down from the skies to join in on the fun
While the magnified Woggle-Bug told a bunch of puns
Jack Pumpkinhead made himself into a Jack Hollyhead
And even Jinjur and Mombi arrived, much to some people's dread

Lion was there too, of course, with his kids Beila and Boarys
The feast was not something Hungry Tiger would miss
Tik-Tok, the Wheelers, even Princess Langwidere…
From Ugu to Blinkie to Captain Bill, everyone was here!

But only a few of them were needed to make Dorothy happy
And those people - if you don't mind me getting sappy
Were, of course, her families; yes, more than one
Because her Ozian friends were family, bar none!

Uncle Henry and Auntie Em had managed to make it
And the three farmhands, we must not omit
There was no way Toto or Eureka would miss out on this day
And even Miss Gulch - yes, really - had been invited to stay

But the one Dorothy spent her time with was, well, you know
It was no one else but a certain big-brained Scarecrow
The straw man couldn't believe all this delight
And he hoped it would last long into the night

For Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion too
It was sure to be the most amazing Christmas they ever knew

Lion was only scared that this day would eventually end
Tin Man, though ill, was just happy to be there with friends
Scarecrow was the happiest then than he ever was
And Dorothy was now sure to spend every Christmas in Oz

When the sun set, and the stars lit up the night sky
Scarecrow had to say to Dorothy with a happy cry…

'Merry Christmas, Dottie!'

She giggled. 'Merry Christmas to you too, Scarecrow!'

'This is how I wanna spend every Christmas.' Tin Man said. 'Right here with my… my… AH-CHOO! … family.'

'Ya said it, Tinny!' Lion said with a goofy laugh. 'Ya may not be lions, but ya just as much as family ta me as tha kids!'

And, well, I'm sure you know how a story like this ends
Dorothy and Scarecrow joined arms with their friends
And they all announced to every Ozian in sight…
'MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL, A GOOD NIGHT!'

Author Notes - I enjoyed re-reading this more than I probably should have.

Anyway, Scarecrow's nickname for Tin Man ('Pie-Plates') is referencing the 1902 play. He only calls him that once ('You're in on that, Pie-plates?'), but I love this nickname so much that I love using it in my own Ozian stories. Tin Man's nickname for him is far more boring ('Where are you, Hay?'). Speaking of Pie-Plates, the 'anymore' in the line '(He didn't even know he could get sick anymore, frankly)' is subtly bringing up his backstory, when he was in fact flesh-and-blood like Dorothy.

I also threw in some references to The Oz Kids, of all things. Tin Man saying that 'Snow is just a fancy word for water' is a quote taken straight from Tin Boy. Who was quoting his father as he said that too. Lion's kids, Beila and Boarys, are just Bella and Boris from that show but with the spellings changed to make it feel more Ozian.

The Sawhorse has a southern accent for no other reason than because that's how I do his voice when I read the Oz books out loud to myself.