Oz: The Great and Powerful Junior Novel Disney Book Group by Disney Press Read Free Book Online

have to forgive us, right? Or we can give them a little help with their infrastructure. I noticed some yellow brick potholes back there,” the monkey pleaded. But Oz just stared at him blankly.
    An awkward silence fell over the pair as they continued to walk down the road. It was going to be a very long, very uncomfortable, journey.…

    A short while later, Oz and Finley crested a small hill. Looking ahead, Oz noticed several plumes of smoke rising from just over the next hill. “That looks bad,” Finley said, his voice now full of concern.
    “We’re not going down there,” Oz stated. It was bad enough he had to find and defeat a wicked witch, he wasn’t about to investigate a possible fire.
    “But someone might need our help!” Finley said as he flew toward the smoke.
    Oz was suddenly a bundle of nerves. “Get back here!” he yelled to Finley. “You get back here! Are you trying to get us killed to get out of this life debt? We’ve got to get the Wicked Witch. What are we doing over here?” But Finley didn’t answer. He just continued on toward the plumes of smoke. Oz realized that he once again had no choice. His pace quickened as he left the Yellow Brick Road and followed Finley down toward the smoke.
    As they reached the bowl of the valley, the ground under their feet began to change. The grass grew stiffer, and then it began to crunch and clink. Looking down, Oz saw that the grass seemed to be made of glass. In fact, the rocks, trees, even the flowers all looked smooth and shiny, reminding Oz of his great-aunt’s china collection. But it wasn’t just the grass, it was the entire town. There were barns and farms and streets just like a regular town—only everything was made entirely of china!
    Making their way into the center of the village, Oz’s heart began to beat nervously. Something terrible had happened here. Everywhere he looked, china was broken and smashed, strewn about as if a giant hand had reached down and smashed the village.
    Bending over to pick up a hunk of china, Oz recoiled. A porcelain face stared back at him. Looking around, he began to pick out more faces among the heaps of broken china. A wave of sadness swept over Oz. Who could have done such a thing? Clearly, this was once a living and breathing place. Now it was just a wasteland.
    From the ruins of a nearby house came the sound of crying. Oz exchanged a look with Finley. It was a dangerous situation, but they both knew they had to investigate the crying sound. Then in the distance came the shrieks of the flying baboons. They sounded like they were coming straight toward them!
    He and Finley ran into the house, jumping over mounds of shattered porcelain and entering what had once been a parlor. There, sitting on the floor, was a beautiful little china girl. She had white china hair, big sad eyes, and she was wearing a white and blue dress.
    “Hey there,” Oz called out. “Are you all right?”
    The girl looked up, still crying. Seeing Oz and Finley, she recoiled in fear.
    “It’s okay, we won’t hurt you,” Oz said, his voice gentle. Carefully, he made his way closer to the girl. He nodded at the monkey. “This is Finley. And my name is Oz.”
    The little girl’s eyes grew wide. “Are you…are you the Wizard?” she stammered.
    “You’ve heard of me?” Oz asked, surprised. She nodded. Apparently news traveled fast in this land. “Then you have nothing to be afraid of. Now come on out of there.”
    “But I can’t,” the little girl replied. She looked down at her legs. For the first time, Oz noticed that they were broken off in several places. “I’ll never get back together,” she said with a catch in her throat.
    Oz flashed back to his last show in Kansas and the little girl begging for his help. He hadn’t been able to do anything then—what were the chances he could do something now? He racked his brain, trying to think of a solution, and then it hit him. “Don’t worry, I think I have something!” he