Status Updates From Il mago di Oz

The green guardian escorts them to the building where Oz is and leaves them with a solider. He gives Oz a message, but not in person. He talks to Oz through a big screen. I guess he believes in social distancing. LOL He returns and says that he will see them one by one, one per day. They will have to stay for a few days. The soldier blows the whistle. A woman escorts Dorothy to her room and it’s a sweet suite. LOL

Ch. 11 Poor Frank Baum can’t handle the idea of magic making everything green so everyone has to strap on a pair of glasses. Bless it. The city was built with green marble, emeralds, and green paint. Everyone wears green. Even the food is green. Imagine that. People take one look at the lion and ignore the group. There are no animals to do the work. Men pull or push little carts. It’s painted like a green utopia.

They find the gate, covered with glitter. The colors are so bright it hurts their eyes. They ring the bell and the gate opens. They are let into a large room. A short guard clothed in green with a green box asks why they are there and they explain their reasons. He allows them to enter once they put on spectacles to protect their eyes from the brillians of the city. All put on green glasses (LOL) that are locked on.

They tell the man why they want to see him and the man thinks the wizard will have no problem helping. The hard part for them is actually meeting the wizard. They eat a wonderful meal except for Dorothy’s friends. The lion doesn’t approve of horse food. The scarecrow and tinman don’t eat. After a good night’s sleep, they go on the road and see the Emerald City from afar. They walk all day and reach the green wall.

They stop by a farmhouse and, after convincing the woman that the cowardly lion is tame (I keep getting Tolkien or Lewis vibes), they are invited in for dinner and a place to sleep for the night. The man is surprised they are going to see the wizard. Nobody has ever seen him before. He sits in his throne room all day and never goes out. The wizard can take various forms and that’s what people usually see.

Ch. 10 After the lion woke up, he is surprised that such a little thing could defeat him (flowers). The other three tell him how they moved him (Aesop vibes). It does not take long before they find the yellow brick road. The countryside is beautiful and lush green. The farmers paint everything green and wear green clothing. Some are afraid of the lion and the scarecrow notices that people are less friendly here.

They load the lion on the truck and pull him into the grass. All say their good-byes. The three wait for the lion to wake up. The tinman gets some fruit for Dorothy and they wait.

The scarecrow tells the tinman to build a truck to put the lion in for them to pull. The mice come from all directions with a string in its mouth. When Dorothy woke up after the long poppy nap, they get her up to speed on what had happened. The thousand mice tie themselves to the truck and pull it easily, even with the tinman and scarecrow onboard. They reach the poppy field and work quickly.

Toto hears them and runs out barking. The mice are terrified, but the tinman scoops him up and promises that the dog shall not hurt him. Then they ask him if they can do anything to pay him back. The scarecrow asks if they can help them rescue the cowardly lion and they promise he will hurt them. There are thousands of mice in her mischief who can help. The queen orders a mouse to collect the flock.

Ch. 9 The three hear a noise and watch an ugly, red-eyed, yellow wild cat bounding through a field, chasing a little gray mouse. The cat heads toward him and the tinman lops off its head with a clean chop. The mouse turns out to be the queen of the mice and it thanks him. Several mice bow to her with due respect and ask how she escaped. She points to the tinman and says they must serve him since he saved her life.