So after that she took no food to the imprisoned Lion; but every day
she came to the gate at noon and asked, Are you ready to be harnessed
like a horse?
And the Lion would answer, No. If you come in this yard, I will bite
you.
The reason the Lion did not have to do as the Witch wished was that
every night, while the woman was asleep, Dorothy carried him food from
the cupboard. After he had eaten he would lie down on his bed of straw,
and Dorothy would lie beside him and put her head on his soft, shaggy
mane, while they talked of their troubles and tried to plan some way to
escape. But they could find no way to get out of the castle, for it was
constantly guarded by the yellow Winkies, who were the slaves of the
Wicked Witch and too afraid of her not to do as she told them.
The girl had to work hard during the day, and often the Witch
threatened to beat her with the same old umbrella she always carried in
her hand. But, in truth, she did not dare to strike Dorothy, because of
the mark upon her forehead. The child did not know this, and was full
of fear for herself and Toto. Once the Witch struck Toto a blow with
her umbrella and the brave little dog flew at her and bit her leg in
return. The Witch did not bleed where she was bitten, for she was so
wicked that the blood in her had dried up many years before.
Dorothy s life became very sad as she grew to understand that it would
be harder than ever to get back to Kansas and Aunt Em again. Sometimes
she would cry bitterly for hours, with Toto sitting at her feet and
looking into her face, whining dismally to show how sorry he was for
his little mistress. Toto did not really care whether he was in Kansas
or the Land of Oz so long as Dorothy was with him; but he knew the
little girl was unhappy, and that made him unhappy too.
Now the Wicked Witch had a great longing to have for her own the Silver
Shoes which the girl always wore. Her bees and her crows and her wolves
were lying in heaps and drying up, and she had used up all the power of
the Golden Cap; but if she could only get hold of the Silver Shoes,
they would give her more power than all the other things she had lost.
She watched Dorothy carefully, to see if she ever took off her shoes,
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