The Cowardly Lion slept for a long time. When he finally woke up, he was happy to be alive. "How did you get me out of the flower field?" he asked. They told him about the Queen of the Field Mice and her brave people. The Lion laughed. "It is strange," he said. "Big flowers almost killed me, and tiny mice saved my life."
They were all happy and started their journey again. Soon, they found the road of yellow brick. The country was beautiful now. The fences and houses were all painted green. The people wore green clothes and pointed hats.
"This must be the Land of Oz," Dorothy said. "We are near the Emerald City."
The people looked at the travelers, but they did not speak. They were afraid of the big Lion. Dorothy was hungry for real food, not just fruit. She went to a large farmhouse and knocked on the door. A woman opened it.
"Why is that big Lion with you?" she asked.
"He is my friend," Dorothy said. "He is very gentle. He is a coward, so he is more afraid of you than you are of him."
The woman thought about this. "Okay," she said. "You can come in. I will give you food and a place to sleep."
Inside the house, a man was resting with a hurt leg. He asked them, "Where are you going?"
"To the Emerald City, to see the great Oz," Dorothy said.
"Are you sure Oz will see you?" the man asked. "No one ever sees him. He is a great Wizard and can be any shape he wants. Sometimes he looks like a bird, or an elephant, or a beautiful fairy. No one knows his real form."
This was strange news. But the friends still wanted to see Oz. They told the man what they wanted: brains for the Scarecrow, a heart for the Tin Woodman, and courage for the Lion. The man said Oz could easily give them those things. "And what do you want?" he asked Dorothy.
"I want Oz to send me back to my home in Kansas," she said.
That night, Dorothy slept in a comfortable bed. In the morning, they started walking again. They saw a bright green light in the sky. It was the Emerald City! In the afternoon, they finally reached the great green wall of the city. At the end of the yellow brick road was a big gate with shiny green emeralds (beautiful, green jewels) on it.
Dorothy rang a bell. A little man, all dressed in green, opened the gate. Even his skin was green. "I am the Guardian of the Gate (the person who protects the gate)," he said. "What do you want?"
"We want to see the Great Oz," Dorothy said.
The little man was very surprised. "Oz is powerful and terrible," he said. "He does not like to see people."
"But our reason is very important," said the Scarecrow.
"Okay," said the Guardian of the Gate. "I must take you to his Palace. But first, you must all wear special glasses." He opened a big green box. It was full of glasses with green glass. "The city is so bright and beautiful that it will hurt your eyes without these glasses. I have to lock them on you."
He put the green glasses on Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, the Lion, and even Toto. He used a small key to lock them. Then the Guardian put on his own glasses. He opened another big gate. They all followed him into the beautiful, green streets of the Emerald City.