Dorothy in the Emerald City
Dorothy in the Emerald City (more correct would be: The Emerald City in Oz) is a children's book by the American writer Lyman Frank Baum . The story was published in 1910 under the original title The Emerald City to Oz with illustrations by John R. Neill . This is the sixth volume of the Oz cycle, which is one of the most popular children's books in the USA and has also been published in German in part.
action
The Nom king seeks revenge. Since Dorothy took the magic belt away from him in Ozma von Oz , he has little power and is constantly in a bad mood. Together with his general he develops a plan for how his army can cross the desert, conquer Oz and enslave the inhabitants. For this purpose, the nouns should dig a tunnel under the desert, which should end exactly under the emerald city. But since one fears Ozma's magical power, one looks for some allies that one finds in the quirky noses, the sour pots and the powerful fanfasmas.
Meanwhile, in distant Kansas, Uncle Henry and Aunt Em are plagued by grave worries. Because they cannot repay a loan, they should be thrown from the court. When Dorothy learns of these concerns, she wants to ask her friend Ozma a favor. She gives her the agreed-upon sign via the magic mirror that she would like to see her and shortly afterwards she is in the emerald city. She describes her suffering to Ozma and is then invited to live in the Emerald City with Uncle Henry and Aunt Em.
The two old people quickly find their way around the new life, even if they lack some occupation. Ozma wants to come up with a solution and sends Dorothy with Uncle Henry and Aunt Em, accompanied by the Wizard of Oz, the Shaggy Man, the General Omby Amby, the hen Billina and the wooden horse on a tour through the magical land, where they do a number get to know new countries, such as B. the puzzle land, the kitchen kingdom, rabbit castle and the land of rabbits feet. Then her way leads to the land of the Winkis. There they learn from the tin lumberjack that the Nom King has planned to raid Oz. Together they travel back to the Emerald City where Ozma tells them that she is not willing to fight the attackers. But the scarecrow has a plan. As the attackers approach through the tunnel, Ozma wishes with the magic belt so much dry dust in the tunnel that the intruders get terribly thirsty. When they come through the tunnel ceiling, they see a fountain in front of them, which they throw themselves into to quench their thirst. They do not know that the water of oblivion gushes out of it, through which they forget all their plans of conquest. The magical land of Oz is saved. To protect it from further enemies, Ozma asks the fairy Glinda to surround the land with an invisible barrier for all strangers.
Remarks
Baum believed that with this volume he had written enough adventures about the magical land of Oz. He also wanted to turn to other projects. To justify this, he added a short final chapter to the story by informing the readers that he had received a letter from Dorothy in which she wrote that she would not be able to tell him anything about Oz in the future, since Ozma had the land yes, surrounded by an invisibility barrier. But since the children didn't let him rest and the Oz stories made him a lot of money, he soon changed his mind. Two more volumes were published in 1913 . While the first contained only six short short stories, the other contained a fairy tale in the usual scope. Seven more novels followed.
literature
- L. Frank Baum: Dorothy in the Emerald City . Übers. Esmy Berlt, LeiV Buchhandels und Verlagsanstalt, Leipzig 2001, ISBN 3-89603-071-X .
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