Chapter 23. Glinda, The Good Witch Grants Dorothy's Wish

Before meeting Glinda, they first stopped in a room of the Castle. Here, Dorothy freshened up, washing her face and combing her hair. The Lion removed the dust in his mane, and the Scarecrow patted himself into his best shape. The Woodman worked on his shine, oiling his joints and polishing his tin.

Once they were all looking sharp, they followed the soldier girl to a large room. Here, the Witch Glinda sat on a ruby throne.

She looked beautiful and youthful to them. Her hair was deep red, falling in curls over her shoulders. She wore a pure white dress, but her eyes were blue, showing kindness to the little girl.

"What can I do for you, my child?" she asked.

Dorothy shared the whole story with the Witch. She talked about the tornado that brought her to Oz, how she met her friends, and their incredible adventures.

"My biggest wish now," she added, "is to return to Kansas. Aunt Em will think something awful has happened to me and start mourning. Uncle Henry can't afford that if the crops aren't better this year."

Glinda leaned in to kiss the sweet, looking-up face of the caring little girl.

"Dear, bless your heart," she said, "I'm sure I can tell you how to get back to Kansas." Then, she added, "But, if I do, you must give me the Golden Cap."

"Sure!" Dorothy said quickly. "It's of no use to me now. When you have it, you can order the Winged Monkeys three times."

"And I think I'll need their help just those three times," Glinda answered with a smile.

Dorothy gave her the Golden Cap, and the Witch turned to the Scarecrow. "What will you do when Dorothy leaves us?"

"I'll go back to the Emerald City," he said, "because Oz made me its ruler and the people like me. The only problem is getting over the hill of the Hammer-Heads."

"Using the Golden Cap, I'll order the Winged Monkeys to take you to the gates of the Emerald City," said Glinda, "because it would be a pity to deprive the people of such a wonderful ruler."

"Am I really wonderful?" the Scarecrow asked.

"You're unusual," Glinda replied.

She then turned to the Tin Woodman, asking, "What will happen to you when Dorothy leaves?"

He leaned on his axe, thinking for a bit. Then, he said, "The Winkies were nice to me and wanted me as their ruler after the Wicked Witch died. I like the Winkies, and if I could get back to the West, I'd love to rule over them forever."

"My second order to the Winged Monkeys," said Glinda, "will be to carry you safely to the Winkies' land. Your brain may not seem as big as the Scarecrow's, but you're really smarter when you're well polished, and I'm sure you'll rule the Winkies well."

Then the Witch looked at the big, shaggy Lion and asked, "When Dorothy returns home, what will happen to you?"

"Past the hill of the Hammer-Heads," he said, "is a great old forest where all the animals made me their King. If I could get back there, I would live there happily there for the rest of my life."
"My third command to the Winged Monkeys," said Glinda, "will be to take you to your forest. After using the Golden Cap's powers, I'll give it to the Monkey King so he and his group can be free forever."

The Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Lion thanked the Good Witch deeply for her kindness. Dorothy then said:

"You're as kind as you are pretty! But you haven't told me how to return to Kansas yet."

"Your Silver Shoes can take you over the desert," said Glinda. "If you knew their power, you could have returned to Aunt Em the day you arrived here."

"But then I wouldn't have my wonderful brains!" the Scarecrow exclaimed. "I could've spent my life in the farmer's cornfield."

"And I wouldn't have my lovely heart," said the Tin Woodman. "I could've just stood in the forest, rusting till the end of the world."

"And I would've stayed a coward forever," the Lion said, "with no animal in the forest saying anything nice about me."

"All of this is true," said Dorothy, "and I'm glad I helped these good friends. But now that they all got what they wanted and each has a kingdom to rule, I think I'd like to return to Kansas."

"The Silver Shoes," said the Good Witch, "have wonderful powers. One of the most amazing things about them is that they can take you anywhere in the world in three steps. Each step happens in a blink. Just knock the heels together three times and tell the shoes where you want to go."

"If that's the case," the girl said happily, "I'll ask them to take me back to Kansas right now."

She hugged the Lion tightly and kissed him, gently patting his large head. Then she kissed the Tin Woodman, who was crying in a way that could harm his joints. But instead of kissing the Scarecrow's painted face, she hugged his soft, stuffed body. She realized she was crying too, feeling sad to leave her dear friends behind.

Glinda the Good stepped off her ruby throne to kiss the little girl goodbye, and Dorothy thanked her for all the kindness she showed to her friends and herself.

Now, Dorothy solemnly picked up Toto, and after one last goodbye, she knocked the heels of her shoes together three times, saying:

"Take me home to Aunt Em!"

Suddenly, she was spinning in the air so fast that all she could feel or see was the wind rushing past her ears.

The Silver Shoes took only three steps, then she stopped so abruptly that she rolled on the grass several times before knowing where she was.

After a while, she sat up and looked around.

"Oh my!" she exclaimed.

She was sitting on the wide Kansas prairie with Uncle Henry's new farmhouse in front of her. He had built it after the tornado carried away the old one. Uncle Henry was milking the cows in the barnyard. Toto had jumped from her arms and ran toward the barn, barking loudly.

Dorothy stood up and noticed she was in her socks. The Silver Shoes had come off during her flight and were now lost forever in the desert.