<P> By 1938, more than one million copies of the book had been printed . Less than two decades later in 1956, the sales of his novel had grown to three million copies in print . </P> <P> Dorothy is a young girl who lives with her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry and her little dog Toto on a farm in the Kansas prairie . One day, Dorothy and Toto are caught up in a cyclone that deposits her farmhouse into Munchkin Country in the magical Land of Oz . The falling house has killed the Wicked Witch of the East, the evil ruler of the Munchkins . The Good Witch of the North arrives with three grateful Munchkins and gives Dorothy the magical Silver Shoes that once belonged to the Wicked Witch . The Good Witch tells Dorothy that the only way she can return home is to go to the Emerald City and ask the great and powerful Wizard of Oz to help her . As Dorothy embarks on her journey, the Good Witch of the North kisses her on the forehead, giving her magical protection from harm . </P> <P> On her way down the yellow brick road, Dorothy attends a banquet held by a Munchkin man named Boq . The next day, Dorothy frees the Scarecrow from the pole on which he is hanging, applies oil from a can to the rusted connections of the Tin Woodman, and meets the Cowardly Lion . The Scarecrow wants a brain, the Tin Woodman wants a heart, and the Cowardly Lion wants courage, so Dorothy encourages the three of them to journey with her and Toto to the Emerald City to ask for help from the Wizard . After several adventures, the travelers enter the gates of the Emerald City and meet the Guardian of the Gates, who asks them to wear green tinted spectacles to keep their eyes from being blinded by the city's brilliance . Each one is called to see the Wizard . The Wizard appears to Dorothy as a giant head on a marble throne, to the Scarecrow as a lovely lady in silk gauze, to the Tin Woodman as a terrible beast, and to the Cowardly Lion as a ball of fire . The Wizard agrees to help them all if they kill the Wicked Witch of the West, who rules over Oz's Winkie Country . The Guardian warns them that no one has ever managed to defeat the witch . </P> <P> The Wicked Witch of the West sees the travelers approaching with her one telescopic eye . She sends a pack of wolves to tear them to pieces, but the Tin Woodman kills them with his axe . She sends wild crows to peck their eyes out, but the Scarecrow kills them by breaking their necks . She summons a swarm of black bees to sting them, but they are killed trying to sting the Tin Woodman while the Scarecrow's straw hides the other three . She sends her Winkie soldiers to attack them, but the Cowardly Lion stands firm to repel them . Finally, she uses the power of the Golden Cap to send the winged monkeys to capture Dorothy, Toto, and the Cowardly Lion, unstuff the Scarecrow, and dent the Tin Woodman . Dorothy is forced to become the Wicked Witch's personal slave, while the witch schemes to steal Dorothy's Silver Shoes . </P>

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