Summary

As The Wizard of Oz by Frank Baum opens, Dorothy is at home with her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry. Dorothy is an orphan who lives with Em and Henry on their farm in Kansas. They live in a tiny one-room house with a small cyclone cellar. To reach the cellar, they open a trap door in the floor and climb through. Dorothy’s aunt and uncle work hard, and they are care-worn. They seldom smile and are described as being as gray and dull as the Kansas landscape, which is severely lacking in color. Dorothy is a happy child and loves to play with her little dog, Toto. Dorothy sometimes laughs out loud as she plays, and Aunt Em is often startled by the sound because it’s so out of place in her surroundings.

One day Uncle Henry is looking at...