The Cyclone and Oz

So, it all started one day when everything was dull and gray. Of course, most sights are gray to me since I see in gray, light yellow, and even blue sometimes. However, to Dorothy, this was a particularly gray and lonely day. The wind was hot and damp as it was weaving through the wheat fields. Uncle Henry was sitting on the porch of the one room house watching the sky, and Aunt Em was always "too old" to play. Dorothy played with me, though, and we were having a great time. That is, we were having a great time until all the commotion started.

Uncle Henry suddenly came in throwing the door open in his wake. All he said was, "There's a cyclone coming, Em." At this, Aunt Em got all in a frenzy and ran towards the trap door in the middle of the house. She started yelling at Dorothy, "Quick, Dorothy! Run for the cellar!" Everyone was so scared, and there were so many voices at once after a lifetime of quiet that I up and ran under the bed to try and make sense of it all. Dorothy, of course, came to retrieve and console me as is her habit. I do get so frightened sometimes, especially due to noises.

As she was walking us after Aunt Em, suddenly an overwhelmingly large gust of wind blew my hair all in my face and Dorothy and I ended up on the floor. Then, to our great surprise, just when Aunt Em descended into the cellar, the cellar began to get smaller. The house was rising. We were in the air. Do you read me? In. The. Air. I tell you, I was as scared as a cat, and that's saying something. I actually could not contain myself. I started running around the middle of the room barking at Dorothy to help me understand why we were suddenly in the sky where the air felt so strange and everything smelled so wet when I unexpectedly felt my paws fall through the floor! I had lost my footing and fell down into the cellar's trap door, which was still wide open, into the open air. Thankfully, the wind that was keeping our house up was also keeping me up. Dorothy snatched my ear and hauled me back up and promptly shut the small door. She's my hero.

We were in the house just spinning around for a decent amount of time and had actually fallen asleep on Dorothy's small bed for a while before - "THUNK." The house jolted, and it felt like a large earthquake had just happened underneath our small house. I was so scared, but Dorothy was remaining calm, so I figured we were going to be fine. We just needed to find out what happened.

Dorothy and I noticed that there was light coming into our house from the window above the sink. Dorothy got up to open the front door, so I followed her. When we opened the door, we found a HUGE...well...actually a few small surprises. Right outside, there was an army of little people that smelled like candy and soap. Dorothy seemed too enamored with the look of the place, because she did not notice them at first. I know they weren't children, because they didn't look like Dorothy. Whatever they were, they were strange. There were three dressed in blue and one all dressed in white.

Dorothy started to talk to them and particularly to the one dressed in white. She had the most strange way of talking, and it seemed as though they talked for quite some time, but I wasn't listening. I did hear the lady call herself a "witch." After that, Dorothy walked out of our house around to the left side. We looked down and saw legs indicating that there was someone underneath our house. That sure was crazy to see. I wasn't listening, but I suppose the white witch had told Dorothy to take the shoes off of this unfortunate soul, because she took them and put them on. They were pretty and shiny and a light gray in color, and I thought Dorothy looked very nice with them on. After that, the white witch kissed Dorothy's forehead! I was so upset. I thought that surely Dorothy was a goner, but I was too uneasy of her to bark. Then the lady... disappeared. I certainly barked then, because I had never seen anyone disappear before, so it was a new experience for me. Dorothy didn't seem to mind it, though, so I eventually stopped.

After this we began our adventures in Oz. We had a couple rough patches at times, and I actually learned more about Dorothy and her bravery. I even learned a little about myself. Read on to hear one of our most memorable encounters with the Cowardly Lion.

Author's Note: This story comes from the first two chapters of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz written by L. Frank Baum with illustrations by W. W. Denslow. The book is similar to the movie in many ways, but there are a few key details that the movie changes or leaves out. In the book, Oz is a real country, the magic shoes are silver instead of red, the cellar is inside of the house, and only three munchkins and a lady witch wearing white (her name is not Glenda in the book) came to greet Dorothy and Toto. The greatest of these changes has to do with Oz being a real location. Baum could not have written so many sequels to the story if Oz was not real. The story-line of Toto's story is basically the same as The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. This story is just told in Toto's own words based on his experience. Toto sees and hears less than Dorothy, but he smells more and he feels both his feelings and Dorothy's. Sounds and people affect him more, as he is less trusting than Dorothy and sees himself as her protector. Toto focuses more on the other characters' actions while Dorothy cares more about their words. Above all, though, Toto's story emphasizes his love and adoration for Dorothy. He is certainly girl's best friend, and will never willingly leave her side.