Abby in Oz

by Sarah Mlynowski

  “Yes!” I cry. “That’s Dorothy!”

  “And does the other have reddish hair, a blue dress, and a green sweatshirt?”

  “Yes! That’s Robin,” Frankie says.

  “Don’t know them,” the Winkie says.

  “Huh? You just described them!” Frankie cries.

  “I’ve seen them,” he says. “But I don’t know them.”

  “Can you just show us where they are? So we can find them?” I ask. This conversation is getting ridiculous.

  “No can do,” the Winkie responds.

  “And why not?” I demand.

  “Because your friends aren’t here,” he explains.

  “Is this one of those trick answers?” Frankie asks.

  “Nope,” the Winkie says. “You just missed them. The monkeys took them to the Emerald City about five minutes ago.”

  “What? Why?” I ask.

  “Well, the witches have been trying to overpower the Wizard for years. And now that they’ve partnered up with that fairy guy — Gluck? Muck? — they are going to try to take the Wizard down! And then they’ll conquer the Emerald City and turn it gray, too.”

  My stomach drops. So not only have we ruined the book and the movie, but now we might ruin the Emerald City for good?

  Great. Just great.

  “But why did the witches take Dorothy and Robin there?” I wonder out loud. “Couldn’t they have just left them here in a dungeon or something?”

  “It was that evil fairy,” the Winkie says. “Gluck-Muck insisted your friends come along, too.”

  “Then we have to go to the Emerald City,” I say.

  “So we’re off to see the Wizard?” Frankie asks.

  “No,” I say. “We’re off to save the Wizard.”

  The Winkies are nice enough to make us a pepperoni pizza before we go.

  “The witches love pizza,” one Winkie tells us, handing me the pizza in a take-out box. “They eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It’s their favorite thing to eat, so we’ve become experts at making it. They like mice and frog legs as their toppings, though.”

  Frankie shudders. “Domino’s definitely doesn’t offer that on their menu.”

  Frankie and I leave the castle grounds and meet up with Penny, Toto, Prince, Scarecrow, and Tin Man, who have all been waiting eagerly for us. As soon as Prince sees me, he jumps up on his hind legs and his tail starts wagging. Aw, he really loves me.

  Or maybe he just smells the pizza.

  All seven of us sit down on the gray grass for a very quick pizza picnic. Scarecrow and Tin Man don’t need food, so they just relax while the rest of us gobble up the delicious slices and gulp down the juice boxes the Winkies also sent us off with. When we’re done eating and drinking, even Toto looks happier. Maybe he was just hangry.

  Maybe that’s Frankie’s issue, too?

  “Are you feeling better, Frankie?” I ask.

  “What is that supposed to mean?” she snaps back.

  Um, never mind.

  “She seems fine to me,” Tin Man says.

  “Exactly,” Frankie says. “He gets me. I’m just fine.”

  Whatever you say.

  We throw away the remains of our picnic, and then we head back through the forest. We’re on the lookout for the yellow brick road, which will take us to the Emerald City. The sun is starting to rise.

  I yawn. After all that food, I could really use a nap. And some cold medicine. My nose is really stuffy.

  Suddenly, something huge and furry and tan jumps right out at me.

  “ROAR!”

  “Ahhh!” we all shriek.

  A ten-foot-tall lion is standing in front of us. Yes, standing. He’s snarling, too, and pointing his sharp claws right at us.

  “Lion!” Penny screams, stepping behind Tin Man with Toto in her arms. Toto whimpers and tries to escape.

  Prince, ears flattened in fear, cowers behind Scarecrow.

  “ROAR!” the Lion growls again, beating his white furry chest. “Roar!”

  Everyone screams again.

  But then I try to calm myself down.

  “Guys, it’s just the Cowardly Lion!” I say. “There’s no reason to freak out!”

  Lion’s eyes flash. “Who are you calling cowardly?” he roars, looming over us. “I’ll eat you for breakfast! ROAR! ROAR!”

  Prince starts shaking beside me.

  I’ve had enough. ENOUGH.

  “No!” I yell. “No, no, no. Don’t you try and scare us! I do not have the time for this! I am tired! I have a cold!”

  “I knew you were sick,” Penny says.

  “Two of our friends have been kidnapped, we lost the magic shoes, the Emerald City has been taken over by witches, and it’s up to us to save everyone. I do not have the patience to listen to you being a jerk!”

  Lion stares at me. Then his face crumples. He bursts into tears!

  “Waah!” he cries, tears streaming down his furry tan cheeks. “Waaaah!”

  Seriously?

  “Um, Mr. Lion?” I say. “Are you okay?”

  He slashes his paws under his eyes to wipe tears away. “Why would I be okay? You just yelled at me. I’m very sensitive.”

  “No kidding,” Penny says.

  He hangs his head. “Are you going to yell at me for being sensitive?”

  “No,” I say calmly. “I’m sorry I yelled. But it’s been a long night. We’re in a bit of a jam.”

  Tin Man rubs his tin chin. “Mr. Lion,” he begins. “Can I ask you something?”

  “Sure,” Lion says, plucking a leaf off a tree and blowing his nose into it.

  “I thought lions were supposed to be kings of the jungle. Are you a different kind of lion?”

  “Yeah,” he says, hanging his head. “A cowardly one. The girl in the stained shirt is right.”

  “Told you,” Penny says to me. “Totally stained.”

  I roll my eyes. Moving on.

  “I’m a phony,” Lion explains. “I know it, and now you know it, too.” He goes over to a fallen log and sits down and hangs his head.

  “I know how you can prove you’re not a scaredy-cat,” Penny says. “Come with us to the Emerald City to fight the witches and evil fairy!”

  Lion blanches. “Are you kidding me? I’m not fighting any witches or evil fairies! Why would I do that?”

  “To help us save our friends,” I say.

  “And there’s a reward for you, too,” Penny says. “If you help us, I bet the Wizard will be so grateful that you helped that he’ll give you some courage!”

  “Really?” Lion asks.

  “Penny!” I say, shaking my head. “The Wizard doesn’t really have any magical powers. He’s a fake. He’s just a regular guy.”

  “That’s not the way I remember it,” she says. “In the movie he hands out courage to the Lion, a heart to the Tin Man, and a brain to the Scarecrow!”

  Scarecrow throws his arms in the air. “So it’s true? I can’t wait to get a brain!”

  “With all my heart,” Tin Man says. “I would like a heart.”

  Frankie and I exchange glances. The Wizard is going to be a huge disappointment. But what can we say?

  Lion nods. “I’ve thought it over. I’ll join your team!”

  “That’s very brave of you!” Penny says.

  Lion puffs up his chest. “It is? It is! See, it’s working already!”

  Lion claims to know the way. “Follow me!” he says proudly, and goes racing down the dirt path through the forest.

  “Wait for us! Not everyone is as fast as you!” Penny calls out. She is still holding Toto in her arms.

  “Oops, sorry!” Lion says, slowing his pace to almost slow motion.

  Finally, I see a clearing. And then something yellow glinting in the sun.

  The yellow brick road! We’re back.

  “Follow the yellow brick road!” I cry. We’re coming for you, Robin and Dorothy!

  The sun is up, we’re following the yellow brick road, and we’re o
n our way to save our friends. I can’t help but smile. Maybe I’m not feeling my healthiest, but I am turning this day around. And look at those beautiful red flowers!

  “Ooh!” Penny exclaims, pointing at the flowers. “Pretty!”

  “They are pretty!” Frankie says, looking around. For the first time in the past two days, she’s smiling.

  “I can give these to the Wizard,” Scarecrow says. “That would be nice, right?” He takes a deep whiff of the flowers. “Ah, smells so lovely!”

  I wish I could smell, but my nose is completely stuffed.

  Toto and Prince are sniffing the flowers, too, leaping around and chasing each other. At least they seem to be getting along.

  Wait. Wasn’t there something important about red flowers in the movie?

  What was it?

  “Frankie?” I ask. “Aren’t there red flowers in the story?”

  Frankie looks up at me, in mid-sniff. Her eyes widen. She looks at the flowers in her hands. “Oh, no. They’re poppies. They’ll put us to sleep!”

  Right! Oh, no.

  “Penny! Lion! Scarecrow!” I cry. “Stop smelling the flowers!”

  “Oh, stop being such a bossypants!” Penny calls over her shoulder.

  “But the flowers are gonna put everyone to sleep!” I cry. “We don’t have time to sleep! We have to beat the witches to the Emerald City!”

  “It’s worse than that,” Frankie says, dropping her flowers like hot potatoes. “This is the kind of sleep where we might never wake up. We have to get away from the flowers as soon as we …” She sways, and blinks. “I’m soooo tired.”

  “Why are my eyes so heavy?” Lion asks, also swaying. “I’m getting sleepy. Can someone make me a cup of coffee? No, a pot of coffee? A swimming pool of coffee?” Without any warning, he face-plants onto the field.

  Prince scurries away just in time to avoid getting hit by the falling lion.

  Frankie sinks to the ground, and within seconds she is snoring away.

  “Oh, no!” I cry.

  Penny drops next, also snoring happily.

  “What’s wrong with them?” Tin Man asks.

  “The flowers are putting them to sleep!” I say. “No!” I cry to my friends. No, no, no! “Stay awake! People, you need to stay awake! We have to get to the Emerald City! Where’s Prince? Toto?”

  I look around and spot both dogs curled into little napping balls beside Penny.

  Am I going to fall asleep next? Why am I still awake? I look at Tin Man and Scarecrow. We’re standing while Lion, the two dogs, Frankie, and Penny all sleep.

  “I don’t understand what’s happening,” Scarecrow says. “Are we supposed to be taking naps now?”

  “No, we’re not!” I say. “They just walked into a field of poppies and fell asleep!”

  “But why aren’t we asleep?” Scarecrow asks.

  “Maybe because we’re not humans or animals?” Tin Man asks. “Abby, are you a human?”

  “I am definitely a human,” I reply. And then I sneeze. “But my nose is stuffed, so maybe that stopped me from breathing in the scent of the poppies?”

  “Well, what do we do now?” Scarecrow asks. “How long do you think they will sleep for?”

  I rack my brain to try and remember what happened in the movie. All of them fell asleep … but then Glinda the good witch made it snow on them, which woke them up!

  “Glinda!” I cry to the sky. “Help us! Make it snow!”

  I wait. And wait. I don’t see Glinda. Or snow.

  “Who’s Glinda?” Tin Man asks.

  “Ugh,” I say. “She’s a good witch. Although apparently not a very reliable one.”

  “There’s a good witch?” Scarecrow asks.

  “There’s supposed to be,” I grumble. “But this one has been missing in action.” It’s not totally her fault. I remember what Frankie said — in the book, Glinda comes to help because the Munchkins get her. So in this version Glinda doesn’t even know about us yet. Understandable, but what do we do now? This is so unfair. I’m the one who’s sick and needs to nap, yet my friends are the ones who get to sleep while I have to figure out how to save everyone!

  “Maybe we should move them away from the flowers?” Tin Man asks. “So they’re not breathing the air in?”

  I nod. “That makes sense,” I say.

  “You’re really smart, Tin Man,” Scarecrow says. “I can’t wait to get my brain from the Wizard.”

  He looks so wistful, I don’t have the heart to remind him that the Wizard is a big fake. I sneeze again and try really hard not to breathe in.

  “And when I get my heart,” Tin Man says, “no one will be happier for you than me!”

  And I’ll just be happy when my friends wake up so we can rescue Robin and Dorothy. I hope they’re okay. And not too scared.

  “Tin Man, you grab Penny,” I say. “Scarecrow, you take Frankie. I’ll take the dogs. Then we’ll come back for Lion. He’s so big we’ll have to work together to get him out of the field. I’ll try to keep breathing out of my mouth, but if I fall asleep, you need to move me, too!”

  I scoop both dogs into my arms and run with them to the end of the field. I set them down beside a tree.

  Tin Man carries Penny. Scarecrow carries Frankie. Once both girls are next to the dogs, all three of us rush back in for Lion.

  SNORE-zzzzz! comes out of Lion, his furry white belly rising up and down. Zzzzz-SNORE!

  “Wow, that’s loud,” Tin Man says. “And he has terrible breath. He could really brush his teeth occasionally.”

  “Scarecrow,” I say, “you take Lion’s head. Tin Man, you take his body. I’ll hold up his feet.”

  Together, we finally move Lion over by the girls.

  The three of us sit down, exhausted.

  Everyone’s still asleep.

  “Come on, all,” I say. “Wake up!”

  “Yawwwwwwwn!”

  That wasn’t me. Or Scarecrow. Or Tin Man. I look over at my friends. Frankie is stretching her arms over her head, her mouth in a big yawn.

  Yes! She’s waking up!

  “I can’t believe I forgot about the poppies,” she says, and straightens her glasses.

  Penny stretches and yawns, too, her blue eyes popping open. “Why is there a twig in my hair?” she complains, yanking it out.

  Lion is still snoring away.

  “What happened?” Penny asks.

  “Remember the poppy scene in the movie?” I ask. “We just went through it.”

  “Oops,” she says. “We all fell asleep?”

  “I didn’t,” I say.

  “Because you have a cold! I knew it!” she exclaims once again.

  “Yes,” I say. “I have a cold. A thousand apologies.”

  “If you get me sick, you are not forgiven,” she says.

  Frankie stands up. “Let’s go. We’ve wasted enough time.” She pokes Lion in the paw. “Wake up already!”

  “Whoa,” I say. “We moved him last. It might take him a few more minutes to snap out of his trance.”

  Lion opens one eye. “Roar?”

  “Time to get up,” Frankie says.

  Toto licks Lion’s cheek. Aw.

  Penny giggles.

  Lion stretches himself in a sun salutation.

  “Okay, everyone,” I say. “Now that you’ve all had your beauty sleep, it’s time to get moving again. Lion, do you know how much longer we have to walk to get to the Emerald City?”

  “Maybe about twenty minutes. Make that forty for you slowpokes.”

  “How will we know when we’re there?” Scarecrow asks.

  “We’ll know,” Lion says.

  * * *

  Eventually we see it.

  A shiny green wall.

  The city must be on the other side of it.

  “Yay, we made it!” I say. “We’ve arrived at the gates of the Emerald City!”

  “Now what?” Lion asks. “Do you think the witches are already here?”

  Everyone stops to think.<
br />
  “We can just ring the bell,” Tin Man says. He points to the buzzer on the gate with a sign. PRESS TO REQUEST ENTRY.

  “But if we ring it and they are here, then they’ll know we’re here,” I say. “I don’t think we want the witches and Gluck to know.”

  “Good point,” Frankie says.

  “Maybe we shouldn’t even be here,” Penny says, looking scared. “Two witches, an evil fairy, and flying monkeys? Can’t we just go home?”

  “We need to get the shoes to go home,” I explain. “And we can’t leave Robin! Or Dorothy!”

  “Right,” Penny grumbles. “Why did Robin have to get herself snatched up?”

  “It’s not her fault!” I say. “Robin didn’t even know the flying monkeys existed!”

  “Can you guys stop fighting?” Frankie asks. “You’re getting on my nerves!”

  “You’re getting on my nerves,” Penny says. “You’ve been on my nerves all day, Cranky Frankie!”

  “Stop calling me that!” Frankie cries.

  “Pssst,” I hear.

  What was that?

  I see a small gray face peer at me from between two of the slabs in the gate.

  “Hi,” I say, startled. “Who are you?”

  “I’m the Gate Guard,” the gray woman says. “Who are you?”

  “I’m Abby, and this is Penny, Frankie, Toto, Prince, Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion. We’re looking for our friends,” I say.

  “You do not want to be inside the Emerald City,” the gray woman says. “We’ve been taken over by witches and an evil fairy!”

  “Oh, no,” I say. “They’re here already?”

  She nods. “The three of them flew in and took over the whole city!”

  “Where’s the Wizard?”

  “He barricaded himself in the throne room in his castle!”

  Such a wimp, that wizard.

  “And did they fly in with any prisoners?” I ask.

  “Yes! Two young girls.”

  “Where are they?” I ask. “We need to rescue them!”

  “I’ll only tell you if you promise to overthrow the witches and the evil fairy so Oz can be ours again. Will you help us?”

  I look at the rest of our crew.

  The dogs bark and jump in circles. Everyone else nods.

  “It’s a deal,” I say.

  The gate to the Emerald City creaks open slowly, and we all step inside.