Here is how Dorothy met Tik-tok:

"That reminds me," said Dorothy, "of the golden key I picked up on the shore. Do you think that it would fit this key-hole, Billina?"

"Try it and see," suggested the hen.

So Dorothy searched in the pocket of her dress and found the golden key. And when she had put it into the hole of the rock, and turned it, a sudden sharp snap was heard; then, with a solemn creak that made the shivers run down the child's back, the face of the rock fell outward, like a door on hinges, and revealed a small dark chamber just inside.

"Good gracious!" cried Dorothy, shrinking back as far as the narrow path would let her.

For, standing within the narrow chamber of rock, was the form of a man--or, at least, it seemed like a man, in the dim light. He was only about as tall as Dorothy herself, and his body was round as a ball and made out of burnished copper. Also his head and limbs were copper, and these were jointed or hinged to his body in a peculiar way, with metal caps over the joints, like the armor worn by knights in days of old. He stood perfectly still, and where the light struck upon his form it glittered as if made of pure gold.

First you need to know a little about Dorothy. If you already know about Dorothy Gale of Kansas and her first trip to Oz in a tornado, and you want to skip this story, go to The Oz Books.

This will just be a few things about the story. There is a link below to a place where you can read the whole story. Dorothy lived on a farm in Kansas where everthing was sad and gloomy and gray, (like the right section of this page since the Watermark appeared). The only thing she had to cheer her up was a little dog named Toto. She kept wishing she could go someplace more interesting and fun. One day she finally got her wish when a Tornado came and carried her and Toto away to a beautiful, exciting Fairyland called Oz (You should never try this yourself, because tornados are very dangerous).

The funny thing is, now that she got her wish, all she could think about was getting back home again. The Good Witch who welcomed her to Oz told her to try asking the Wizard of Oz to help her. She had to go a long way and face a lot of dangers to find the Wizard, and on the way she made some new, very strange friends, and she's been making new friends ever since.

First she met the Scarecrow (who wanted a brain), then the Tin Woodman (who wanted a heart), and finally the Cowardly Lion (who wanted courage). There is a link below to a place where you can find out more about these and all the other friends that Dorothy has found in her travels.

When they finally found the Wizard, he said he would only help them if they would do something for him first. They had to make another long and dangerous trip to another part of Oz do what he said, and lots of strange things happened to them on the way.

The Oz Books

If you already know about the Oz books and want to skip this part go to Dorothy's Friends

L Frank Baum, the person who wrote "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz," got a lot of letters from children who wanted to know more about Oz, so he wrote another book about what happened in Oz after Dorothy and the Wizard left. You see, the Wizard left Oz about the same time as Dorothy, and appointed the Scarecrow to be the ruler of Oz in his place. The second book is about a boy named Tip who ran away from home because the mean old woman who he had to live with was going to use magic to transform him into something else.

There's nothing in that book about Dorothy because she was at home in Kansas the whole time. Then Mr. Baum got a lot of letters from children who wanted to know more about Dorothy, so he wrote another book, about her second trip to Oz.

Here are some places to visit to find out more about Oz and about Dorothy's friends.

• Oz Books by L. Frank Baum
• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: Read the whole book here.
• Critteria Ozlandus: A Who's Who: All the characters in all the Oz Books.

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