Dorothy's Mystical Adventures in OzEvans, Robert J.
Science
Dorothy's Mystical Adventures in Oz
Evans, Robert J.
Fantasy literature; Oz (Imaginary place) -- Juvenile fiction
"Why don't you look at each other's heads with it?" asked the Scarecrow
seriously. "Then you'd all have bigger heads."
"Oh, it won't work on living things," replied the Pinhead. "Besides, we
like the way we look. How would it be if everyone in Oz looked the same?
All skinny or all fat, all tall or all short, all white or all yellow,
all blue or all green, all --"
"All right, all right! You've made your point," said the Scarecrow. "My
brain is fairly new and it's just not used to thinking that much yet."
"I agree with you, Mr. Pinhead," said Dorothy. The world would be a very
dull place if everyone looked the same. Imagine what it would be like if
everyone looked exactly alike, thought exactly alike, and talked exactly
alike! There would be no point to existence."
"My sentiments entirely!" said the Pinhead.
"Getting back to the business at hand," said Dorothy. "I'm still
mystified as to how you create a river to order?"
"Well," answered the Pinhead. "It's quite simple, really. We have this
huge reservoir that was created by building a dam to capture the tears
of a giant that was a bit of a cry-baby, to say the least. The slightest
little hurt would set him off on a crying spell. We turned his excessive
crying into a cottage industry by utilizing the stored up tears for our
new company, /Rivers on Demand, Inc.,/ and since the tears have magical
qualities we can direct the river to and fro', uphill or downhill,
exactly as we wish to suit the customer's order. The river even knows to
avoid dwelling places and other inhabited areas, and to return
immediately to the reservoir when its passengers have disembarked."
"Remarkable!" replied Dorothy. "Just remarkable."
With that, they all went down to the newly created river to board the
raft that had just been completed for them. After stepping aboard they
barely had time to wave goodbye to their new friends as the river
quickly whisked them on their way.
*
Chapter Five:
A Visit from the Wicked Witch of the Deep South
*
"My, the river's flowing fast. I'm glad it's not that deep," said the
Tin Woodman, after they were underway. "If it were, and I fell
overboard, I could rust up solid for all eternity. Do you think the raft
will stay big? Oh dear, what if it gets little again? We'll all be
spilled into the water!"
"Don't worry so much," said Dorothy, smiling. "You'll worry yourself to
death."
"Can people really do that?" asked the Tin Woodman. "Worry themselves to
death?"
"Of course not," laughed the girl. "But I suppose a person could become
quite sick if he constantly worried over things."
"Never worry worry, 'til worry worries you," said the Scarecrow in a
matter-of-fact tone.
"What is that supposed to mean?" inquired the Tin Woodman.
"I think it means," answered the Scarecrow, "don't worry about something
until it actually happens."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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