k from
the great outside world had found their way into this fairyland, but
all except one had been companions of Dorothy and had turned out to be
very agreeable people. The exception I speak of was the wonderful
Wizard of Oz, a sleight-of-hand performer from Omaha who went up in a
balloon and was carried by a current of air to the Emerald City. His
queer and puzzling tricks made the people of Oz believe him a great
wizard for a time, and he ruled over them until Dorothy arrived on her
first visit and showed the Wizard to be a mere humbug. He was a
gentle, kind-hearted little man, and Dorothy grew to like him
afterward. When, after an absence, the Wizard returned to the Land of
Oz, Ozma received him graciously and gave him a home in a part of the
palace.

In addition to the Wizard two other personages from the outside world
had been allowed to make their home in the Emerald City. The first was
a quaint Shaggy Man, whom Ozma had made the Governor of the Royal
Storehouses, and the second a Yellow Hen named Billina, who had a fine
house in the gardens back of the palace, where she looked after a large
family. Both these had been old comrades of Dorothy, so you see the
little girl was quite an important personage in Oz, and the people
thought she had brought them good luck, and loved her next best to
Ozma. During her several visits this little girl had been the means of
destroying two wicked witches who oppressed the people, and she had
discovered a live scarecrow who was now one of the most popular
personages in all the fairy country. With the Scarecrow's help she had
rescued Nick Chopper, a Tin Woodman, who had rusted in a lonely forest,
and the tin man was now the Emperor of the Country of the Winkies and
much beloved because of his kind heart. No wonder the people thought
Dorothy had brought them good luck! Yet, strange as it may seem, she
had accomplished all these wonders not because she was a fairy or had
any magical powers whatever, but because she was a simple, sweet and
true little girl who was honest to herself and to all whom she met. In
this world in which we live simplicity and kindness are the only magic
wands that work wonders, and in the Land of Oz Dorothy found these same
qualities had won for her the love and admiration of the people.
Indeed, the little girl had made many warm friends in the fairy
country, and the only real grief the Ozites had ever experienced was
when Dorothy left them and r