Making believe! cried Dorothy. Are you not a Great Wizard?
Hush, my dear, he said. Don t speak so loud, or you will be
overheard and I should be ruined. I m supposed to be a Great Wizard.
And aren t you? she asked.
Not a bit of it, my dear; I m just a common man.
You re more than that, said the Scarecrow, in a grieved tone; you re
a humbug.
Exactly so! declared the little man, rubbing his hands together as if
it pleased him. I am a humbug.
But this is terrible, said the Tin Woodman. How shall I ever get my
heart?
Or I my courage? asked the Lion.
Or I my brains? wailed the Scarecrow, wiping the tears from his eyes
with his coat sleeve.
My dear friends, said Oz, I pray you not to speak of these little
things. Think of me, and the terrible trouble I m in at being found
out.
Doesn t anyone else know you re a humbug? asked Dorothy.
No one knows it but you four and myself, replied Oz. I have fooled
everyone so long that I thought I should never be found out. It was a
great mistake my ever letting you into the Throne Room. Usually I will
not see even my subjects, and so they believe I am something terrible.
But, I don t understand, said Dorothy, in bewilderment. How was it
that you appeared to me as a great Head?
That was one of my tricks, answered Oz. Step this way, please, and I
will tell you all about it.
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