The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - Bedtime Stories
Way back in the olden days, in a little faraway village, lived a girl named Dorothy. She lived with her Uncle and Aunt. Dorothy had a little dog, too, who would bark, bark, bark at anyone who came near their house! One day, everyone was out working, and way off in the distance, a big, swirling tornado started to come closer! Dorothy’s Uncle told her to hurry home right away. So, Dorothy ran as fast as her little legs could carry her!
Dorothy got home to hide from the tornado, but oh no! The tornado was coming straight for their house! Dorothy peeked out the window, and then whoosh – she ducked under the table! “Help!” she cried, but nobody could hear her over the wind.
The swirling, twirling tornado picked up Dorothy’s little house, and her dog, too! It zoomed and zoomed, and then thump – it set the house down in a very strange place. Dorothy carefully opened the door and peeked outside.
“Wow!” she gasped. She’d never seen anything like it before! Suddenly, a tiny voice chirped,
“Welcome to the Land of Oz, little lady!” Dorothy looked around and saw a sparkly fairy with beautiful wings!
“But…but I haven’t done anything!” Dorothy exclaimed, “And where am I anyway?”
The kind fairy floated over to the side of the house and pointed. “Look!” she said. “That wicked old witch was squashed flat when your house landed. And now,” the fairy twinkled, “you can have her magical silver shoes!”
Also See the Story: Pinocchio
“I don’t want silver shoes,” Dorothy said. “I just want to go home to my Uncle and Aunt!”
The fairy smiled sadly. “Oh, little one,” she said, “it takes a lot of magic to send someone home, and I don’t have quite enough. But,” she added, pointing down a bright yellow path, “if you follow this road, it will take you straight to the Emerald City of Oz! When you get there, you must find the Wizard of Oz. Tell him that Glinda sent you, and because I’m her friend, he’ll surely help you find your way back home.”
Dorothy slipped on the sparkly silver shoes and started down the yellow brick road. It was a long, long way to the Emerald City of Oz! Glinda, the good fairy, waved goodbye and called out, “I hope you get home soon!”
Dorothy and her little dog, Toto, walked and walked. Suddenly, they came to a scarecrow standing in a field. “Where are you going?” the scarecrow asked.
“We’re going to see the Wizard of Oz,” Dorothy replied, “to ask him to make our wishes come true.”
The scarecrow’s eyes lit up. “Oh!” he exclaimed. “I have a big wish, too! I don’t have a brain, but I like to think. Maybe the Wizard can give me one! Could I come with you?”
“Of course!” said Dorothy. And so, the scarecrow joined them on their journey.
They traveled and traveled along the yellow brick road until they came to a Tin Man, standing perfectly still. The Tin Man saw them and asked, “Where are you headed?”
“We each have a wish,” Dorothy explained. “And the only one who can help us is the wonderful Wizard of Oz.”
The Tin Man sighed. “I’ve always had a big wish, but it never came true,” he said sadly. “I need a heart so I can feel like other people. Could I come with you, too?”
The Tin Man joined Dorothy and the Scarecrow, and they continued down the yellow brick road. Soon, they saw a lion sitting by the side of the road, crying big, fat tears. He was a very cowardly lion! He also had a big wish. He wanted to be brave so he could be the King of the Forest.
When he heard that Dorothy and her friends were going to see the Wizard of Oz, he perked up. “Oh!” he roared (though it didn’t sound very scary),
“I want to come with you! I want to ask the Wizard for some courage. I want to be a brave lion!”
They walked and walked until they reached a deep, wide valley. Dorothy sighed. “Oh dear,” she said sadly, “what shall we do now?”
The Scarecrow looked around and spotted a big tree near the edge of the valley. “I have an idea!” he exclaimed. “If the Tin Man chops down that tree, we can use the trunk as a bridge to cross over!”
Everyone thought that was a wonderful idea. So, the Tin Man, with his sharp axe, chopped down the tree, and it fell right across the valley. “Let me go first!” roared the Lion (though he was still a little bit shaky).
“If it’s safe, then you can all follow.”
The Lion carefully walked across the tree trunk bridge. When he reached the other side and saw there was no danger, he called back, and Dorothy, Toto, the Scarecrow, and the Tin Man all bravely followed him across.
They traveled and traveled until, at last, they reached the Emerald City of Oz! Everything was green – the buildings, the streets, even the sky seemed to have a green tint! A friendly gatekeeper gave each of them a pair of special green-tinted glasses so the bright greenness wouldn’t hurt their eyes. Then, he led them through the city to the great Wizard’s room.
Inside, the Wizard of Oz’s face appeared on a big screen, like a giant talking picture! The Wizard asked them to tell him their wishes. When he heard what they wanted, he said,
“Your wishes will all come true… if you can defeat the Wicked Witch of the West. She’s causing all sorts of trouble and being very mean to everyone.”
The four friends bravely set off to find the Wicked Witch of the West. When the Witch heard they were coming, she cackled loudly and ordered her army of flying monkeys to capture them and bring them to her castle!
The monkeys swooped down and grabbed Dorothy, Toto, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Lion. They carried them all the way to the Witch’s gloomy castle. When the Witch saw Dorothy’s sparkly silver shoes, her eyes grew wide. “Those shoes belonged to my sister!” she shrieked. “Give them to me this instant!”
The Witch knew the shoes were magical and very powerful. But Dorothy refused to give them up. The Witch of the West got so angry that she grabbed Dorothy and shook her in the air, again and again, until finally, the silver shoes fell off Dorothy’s feet! “Help me!” Dorothy cried. The Witch laughed a mean, shrill laugh.
“Ha! No one can help you now!”
Dorothy was furious with the mean witch. She stood up tall and said,
“You’re a bad, ugly, wicked witch!” Then, she looked around for something to throw at the witch. But before Dorothy could do anything, the witch started screaming, “I wish those shoes weren’t on your feet! I wish I could have them!” And then, to everyone’s surprise, the witch began to melt away like a puddle of ice cream in the sun! Poof! She was gone!
Dorothy and her friends happily skipped back to the Emerald City of Oz. The Wizard was waiting for them, just like he promised. But as they entered his room, Toto, Dorothy’s playful little dog, ran behind a curtain and whoosh – the curtain fell down! Everyone gasped! Instead of the great and powerful Wizard, they saw… just an ordinary man sitting in a chair!
“Who are you?” Dorothy asked, confused.
“I am the Wizard of Oz,” the man replied. “But… I’m not really a wizard. I’m just a scientist.”
The Scarecrow frowned. “You tricked us!” he said angrily. “We did what you asked, but you can’t even help us!”
The Tin Man shook his head. “You’re a phony!” he cried.
The Lion grumbled, “You promised!”
The man who pretended to be a wizard held up his hands. “Wait!” he said. “I will keep my promise. I will fulfill all your wishes!”
The man stepped out from behind the curtain and smiled. “About the Scarecrow,” he said, “I must say… you already have a brain! You just don’t realize it. If you couldn’t think, how did you come up with the idea to use the tree as a bridge?” The Scarecrow tilted his head thoughtfully.
“And you, Tin Man,” the man continued, “you already have a heart! You’re kind and loyal to your friends. But,” he added, pulling out a shiny, new, metal heart, “I have a special heart just for you.”
“And Lion,” the man said, “you are already brave! You were willing to cross the bridge first to make sure it was safe for everyone else.”
“You see,” the man explained, “you all had what you were looking for inside you all along! Now, Dorothy, it’s time for you to go home to your Uncle and Aunt. And I have just the thing!”
The man pulled a big, colorful hot air balloon out of a closet and started to pump it up with hot air. It grew bigger and bigger! He tested it out, sending it floating up towards the sky. “See?” he said. “This will take you home!”
Dorothy hugged her friends goodbye. The Lion, the Tin Man, and the Scarecrow waved as Dorothy climbed into the balloon. Up, up, and away she soared, back to her Uncle and Aunt, leaving her wonderful friends behind in the Emerald City.
Dorothy and the man who used to pretend to be the Wizard traveled for two whole days. Because he was a scientist, the man knew exactly where Dorothy’s house was – he had maps and everything! Finally, Dorothy saw her village in the distance! Her Uncle and Aunt had built a brand new house! Dorothy was so happy to see them, she ran and gave them the biggest hug.
The man gave Dorothy a bag full of sparkling emeralds. “These are from the Emerald City,” he said. “You helped us so much by defeating the Wicked Witches of the East and West. We hope you’ll always be happy with your family.”
And Dorothy was! She lived happily ever after with her Uncle and Aunt. Sometimes, she would tell her friends all about her adventures in Oz. And if anyone didn’t believe her, she would just show them one of the shiny emeralds from the Emerald City!
While “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” has many interpretations, some of the key morals are:
Kidsstorybird
Disclaimer: This story is auto-aggregated by a computer program and has not been created or edited by Kidsstorybird.