Suddenly, there was a blinding flash of light, followed by a huge puff of smoke and a very loud peal of thunder. "It is done," said the Witch. Everyone rushed over to the broomsticks. "They don't look any different," said the Lion. "Pick one up," said the Witch, "and sit on it, like this." The Witch picked one of the broomsticks up herself and sat astride it with the broomstick pointed upwards. "All of you do the same," she said. "Now, we'd better have a little flying lesson before we begin. Everyone ready? Handles pointed up. And away we go...." What an amazing sight it was! The Tin Woodman narrowly missed crashing into the Scarecrow. The Lion barely missed the Witch's head with his dangling feet, but slightly brushed his lady friend who didn't mind a bit. However, the Scarecrow's broomhandle somehow got pointed downwards, and he headed very fast for the ground. "Up! Up!" shouted the Witch. He managed to turn upwards just in time. Soon everyone was doing beautifully, swooping down on each other and veering away just in time to avoid a collision. "Wheee!" squealed the Lioness. "This is fun!" Everyone was having such a good time that they forgot about continuing their journey. "All right, everyone," said the Witch. "I can see you are all accomplished flyers now. I believe we should be on our way." "Absolutely," said Dorothy, who was enjoying herself as much as anyone. "All right. Here we go." Up, up, and away they went, high into the sky. "Look down," shouted the Witch to Dorothy. "Oh, how breathtaking!" gasped Dorothy. The Land of Oz stretched out beneath them in a panorama of colors and shapes. The red country of the Quadlings was in the south. The blue territory of the Munchkins lay to the east. The western country of the Winkies was its proper yellow, while the purple Gillikin land was at the north. The sparkling green Emerald City, of course, was in the center. As they flew back downward, they could make out more details. "Look!" said Dorothy. "There's Octapongland directly below us!" They could make out groups of Octapong scattered about, looking at them. "Let's take a closer look!" shouted Dorothy. Down they zoomed, over the heads of the Octapong. The Octapong stampeded like cattle, their eight legs running like the wind, with that one shoe going clippity-clop. Dorothy shouted for the Octapong to stop, but to no avail. Pretty soon the Octapong had outpaced them, for they could run extremely fast. Up again they flew, as they were all anxious to reach the Emerald City. * Chapter Twenty-four: At Last, The Emerald City * "Approaching Emerald City!" shouted the Lion. "Point your broomsticks down," said the Witch. "We're coming in to land." As they zoomed down, people strolling about the streets looked up. "Run!" they heard someone shout. "Run for your life! It's the Wicked Witch!"