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Chapter Ten
DOROTHY AT THE WITCH'S PALACE
When the monkeys brought Dorothy to the Wicked Witch of the West she looked down at Dorothy's feet. She was frightened. She saw the silver shoes and she knew that those silver shoes had great magic. Then the Witch looked into the little girl's eyes. They were clear and kind. So the Witch understood that Dorothy did not know that the shoes had magic and could help her.
So the Witch thought: "I can make her my slave; she doesn't know that the silver shoes have magic. She doesn't know that they can help her!" Then she said to Dorothy:
"Come with me! I shall give you some work to do. You must work very well or I shall make an end of you. 1 I have made an end of the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman."
The Witch took the little girl to the kitchen. She ordered her to clean the kitchen, to wash the floor and the windows. Dorothy did not say a word. She began to work. She was afraid of the Witch.
Many days passed. Poor Dorothy worked hard from morning till night. Every night, when the Witch was asleep, she went to the yard and gave the Lion some food. She took it from the cupboard in the kitchen. The Witch gave the Lion no food because he did not want to work for her. The Lion was very hungry all the time.
Dorothy often cried. When she cried Toto sat at her feet and looked into her face. Neither Dorothy nor Toto could forget their friends, the Tin Woodman and the Scarecrow. Where were they now? Dorothy and -Toto were very sorry for them. "Shall we ever see them again, Toto?" said Dorothy. The Wicked Witch wanted very much to get the silver shoes which were on Dorothy's feet. But the little girl took them off only at night or when she took a bath. 2 The Witch did not go to Dorothy's room at night because she was afraid of the dark. And she did not come near when Dorothy took a bath because she was afraid of water. But Dorothy did not know that.
Once Dorothy ran against a bucket of water 3 in the kitchen. She fell down. In her fall one of the silver shoes came off. The Witch took it at once and quickly put it on her foot. The little girl was very angry. She cried to the Witch:
"Give me back my shoe!"
"No, I shall not give it to you. It is not your shoe, it is my shoe now!"
"You are a wicked old woman," cried Dorothy. "You must not take my shoe from me."
"Some day I shall have the other shoe too," said the Witch.
Dorothy was very angry now. She picked up the bucket of water and threw the water at the Witch.
At once the wicked woman gave a loud cry. She was frightened. Then suddenly she became smaller. Dorothy looked at her in surprise.
"What are you doing?" cried the Witch. "Don't you see I am melting!" 4
"I am very sorry," said Dorothy.
She was frightened too. The Witch melted and melted like sugar.
"The water! It will make an end of me. You knew it very well," cried the Witch.
"No, I didn't," answered Dorothy. "How could I know it?"
"Look out! Here I go!" 5 cried the Witch.
With these words she fell to the floor and became a brown dirty mass. Dorothy took another bucket of water and threw it at the mass. Then she saw her silver shoe. She took it quickly and put it on her foot again. Then she ran out into the yard and told the Lion about the end of the Wicked Witch of the West.
1 or I shall make an end of you — иначе я разделаюсь с тобой
2 when she took a bath — когда она мылась
3 ran against a bucket of water — споткнулась о ведро в водой
4 Don't you see I am melting! — Разве ты не видишь, я таю
5 Look out! Here I go!— Осторожней! Я умираю!
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