Who is the wizard of the emerald city. Emerald City -=Books=. "Seven Underground Kings"

Alexander Melentievich Volkov (1891-1977)

to 125th anniversary of the birth of the Russian children's writer

We are in the city of Emerald

I'm walking the hard road

Dear indirect

Cherished three wishes

Performed by the wise Goodwin

And Ellie will return

Home with Totoshka.

Who does not remember this song from the old Soviet cartoon! Remembered? Of course, this is the "Wizard of the Emerald City".

June 14 marked the 125th anniversary of the birth of the author of the book on which the cartoon was based, the wonderful children's writer Alexander Melentyevich Volkov.

He was a very talented person: at the age of three he learned to read, at eight he bound books for his neighbors in order to be able to read new book, infor six years he immediately entered the second grade of the city school and graduated from it at twelve best student. He graduated from the Tomsk Teacher's Institute, worked as a teacherin the ancient Altai city of Kolyvan, and then in his native city of Ust-Kamenogorsk, at the school where he began his education.He studied French and German on his own.

In the 1920s, Volkov moved to Yaroslavl, worked as a school director, and at the same time passed exams at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of the Pedagogical Institute as an external student. In 1929 he moved to Moscow.

At the age of 40, the father of the family (he has a beloved wife and two sons) entered Moscow State University, in seven months he mastered a five-year course in the Faculty of Mathematics and taught higher mathematics at the Moscow Institute of Non-Ferrous Metals and Gold for twenty years. And along the way, he led an elective for students in literature, studied literature, history, geography, astronomy, and was actively involved in translations.

But it was not mathematics that brought worldwide fame to Alexander Melentievich Volkov. Big connoisseur foreign languages He decided to study English as well. He was offered to practice on the book by Lyman Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The book captivated Volkov so much that the result was not a translation, but an arrangement of the American writer's book. Alexander Melentievich altered something, added something. He came up with a meeting with a cannibal, a flood and other adventures. The girl began to be called Ellie, the dog Totoshka spoke, and the Wise Man from the Land of Oz turned into the Great and Terrible Wizard Goodwin. A lot of cute, funny, sometimes almost imperceptible changes have turned the American fairy tale into a wonderful new book. The writer worked on the manuscript for a year and called it "The Magician emerald city” with the subtitle “Reworkings of a fairy tale by American writer Frank Baum”. The famous children's writer Samuil Marshak, having read the manuscript, approved it and submitted it to the publishing house, strongly advising Volkov to take up literature professionally.

The book was published in 1939 with a circulation of twenty-five thousand copies with black-and-white illustrations by the artist Nikolai Radlov. The readers were delighted. Therefore, the following year, its re-edition appeared, in " school series”, the circulation of which was 170 thousand copies.

In 1959, Alexander Volkov met the novice artist Leonid Vladimirsky, this acquaintance grew into a long collaboration and great friendship. And The Wizard of the Emerald City was published with new illustrations, later recognized as classics. Since then, the book has been constantly reprinted, enjoying the same success.

Young readers fell in love with the heroes of the Emerald City so much that they literally flooded the author with letters, insistently demanding to continue the tale of the adventures of Ellie and her faithful friends - the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, the Cowardly Lion and the dog Totoshka. Volkov responded to the letters with the books UrfinJuice and His Wooden Soldiers and Seven Underground Kings. Readers' letters continued to arrive, and the good wizard Volkov wrote three more fairy tales - "The Fiery God of the Marrans", "Yellow Fog" and "The Secret of the Abandoned Castle". The books were no longer directly related to the works of L. F. Baum, only sometimes partial borrowings and alterations flashed in them.

The creative collaboration between Volkov and Vladimirsky turned out to be long and very fruitful. Working side by side for twenty years, they practically became co-authors of books - continuations of The Wizard. Leonid Vladimirsky became the "court painter" of the Emerald City, created by Volkov. He illustrated all five sequels to The Wizard.

I would like to note that the book was illustrated by many well-known artists, and often publications with new illustrations became a big event, the book took on a new image.

In 1989, the publishing house "Children's Literature" published a book with illustrations by the wonderful artist Viktor Chizhikov. The work of this master can not be confused with anyone else. And the publication turned out to be very interesting, lively.

Volkov's cycle had an incredible success. All six fairy tales about the Emerald City were translated into many languages of the world with a total circulation of several tens of millions of copies.

In our country, this cycle became so popular that in the 1990s, its continuations began to be created. This was started by Yuri Kuznetsov, who decided to continue the epic and wrote a new story - "Emerald Rain" in 1992. Children's writer Sergei Sukhinov, since 1997, has already published more than 12 books in the Emerald City series. In 1996, Leonid Vladimirsky, illustrator of the books by A. Volkov and A. Tolstoy, connected two of his favorite characters in the book Pinocchio in the Emerald City.

Based on The Wizard of the Emerald City, the writer wrote a play of the same name in 1940, which was staged in puppet theaters in Moscow, Leningrad, and other cities. In the sixties, a new version of the play for theaters of the young spectator was held in many theaters of the country.

The tales of the writer and filmmakers did not ignore. The Moscow Filmstrip Studio created filmstrips based on the fairy tales The Wizard of the Emerald City and Oorfene Deuce and His Wooden Soldiers. In 1973, the Ekran association made a puppet film from ten episodes based on the fairy tales of A. M. Volkov, The Wizard of the Emerald City, Urfin Deuce and His Wooden Soldiers, and Seven Underground Kings.

And in 1994, the film-tale of the same name directed by Pavel Arsenov was released on the screens of the country, in which wonderful actors Vyacheslav Nevinny, Evgeny Gerasimov, Natalya Varley, Viktor Pavlov and others starred. In the role of Ellie - Ekaterina Mikhailovskaya. You can watch the story.

The storyteller has long been gone, but grateful readers love and remember him. In 2011, a film about Alexander Melentievich Volkov was filmed. documentary"Chronicles of the Emerald City" (from the diaries of A. M. Volkov).

at the Tomsk State Pedagogical University a unique children's museum "Magic Land" was created, bearing the name of the writer. This is not a simple museum; children can run, jump and even touch the exhibits here. The museum is located in the old building of the university, where Alexander Melentievich once studied. Among the exhibits of the museum is a collection of A. Volkov's things, donated by his granddaughter Kaleria Vivianovna. There are a lot of books in the museum - various editions of the writer's works, manuscripts and photographs, official and personal documents, business notes and notes, and, of course, letters from Alexander Melentyevich himself, letters and postcards from readers, publishers, relatives and friends.

In 2014, in the city of Tomsk, where A. Volkov studied, a monument was erected to the heroes of The Wizard of the Emerald City. Its author is the sculptor Martin Pala.

“It is possible that, finishing the last story about his heroes, A. Volkov would have given the floor to his favorite Scarecrow. And he would probably say: “We are sad to part with you, dear girls and boys. Remember that we taught you the most precious thing in the world - friendship!These words were written artist Leonid Vladimirsky in the afterword to the last book of the cycle - "The Secret of the Abandoned Castle", and we completely agree with him. Therefore, we suggest you visit the library, take the books of Alexander Volkov and again set off on a journey along the yellow brick road.

And some other heroes. In Baum's books own name the scarecrow (eng. Scarecrow) does not. As Volkov writes his own continuations of the fairy tale series, his Scarecrow becomes less and less like his American prototype.

Character history

In "The Wizard of the Emerald City"

straw scarecrow Scarecrow- the first of three creatures that the girl Ellie met, according to Villina's prediction, on her way to the Emerald City. He “worked” as a scarecrow of the Scarecrow for only a couple of days, but during this short period he managed to understand that his main difference from a normal person is the absence of brains. The crow Kaggi-Karr prompted him to this idea, after which the Scarecrow began to dream about how to acquire brains. Therefore, when Ellie took him down from the pole, he happily went with her and Toto to the Emerald City to the wizard Goodwin. The Scarecrow hoped that it would not be difficult for Goodwin to fulfill his cherished desire. The Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion soon joined the company, both of whom also had their own dream.

Along the way, the friends endured many dangerous adventures. And although at that time the Scarecrow did not yet have brains, he constantly gave valuable ideas and performed courageous deeds: he threw himself at the feet of the Cannibal; offered to cross the abyss along a felled tree, and swim across the Great River on a raft; saved his friends from the Saber-toothed tigers with his advice; gave the idea of how to take the Lion out of the poppy field, etc. When Goodwin refused to fulfill the wishes of the petitioners for free and sent them to fight against the evil Bastinda, the Scarecrow performed several more feats: remembering the skills of the scarecrow, he coped with the forty ravens of Bastinda, and then defended his straw Ellie, Leo and Toto from black bee stings.

The road to Stella was also not easy. The Scarecrow was seriously damaged during a flood on the Big River. But his friends did not leave him in trouble, and, in the end, the journey ended happily. Stella managed to send Ellie home, and the Scarecrow, the Woodcutter and the Lion, who became the rulers of different parts of the Magic Land during their wanderings, were delivered by the Flying Monkeys to their subjects.

In the book Oorfene Deuce and His Wooden Soldiers

The Scarecrow ruled the Emerald City wisely and fairly. But he did not have the reputation of Goodwin, whom everyone feared. Nobody was afraid of the Scarecrow, and therefore, soon after he came to power, a wooden army moved to the Emerald City under the command of the envious carpenter Oorfene Deuce. Greedy for power, Deuce, in whose hands a magic life-giving powder accidentally fell into his hands, by that time managed to cut out several dozen wooden soldiers, revive them and capture the Blue Country with this army. Deuce's appetites were not limited to this, and now his army laid siege to the Emerald City.

The Scarecrow personally led the defense of the city and even himself was on duty at night on the city wall, helping the defenders repel the attacks of the wooden soldiers. However, among the townspeople there was a traitor - a petty courtier named Ruf Bilan, who himself aimed at Goodwin's heirs. Bilan opened the gates to the soldiers of Urfin, the Scarecrow was bound and arrested, the city fell. And soon the Woodcutter was also captured, hurrying to the rescue of the Scarecrow and falling into a trap.

The Scarecrow and the Woodcutter flatly refused to cooperate with the conqueror, and Deuce imprisoned them at the top of a high tower, on the condition that if they did not submit to his will in six months, they would both die. However, the Scarecrow did not sit idly by. He came up with the idea of writing Ellie a letter asking for help. The faithful friend of the Scarecrow and the Woodcutter, the crow Kaggi-Karr, delivered the letter.

Having received the letter, Ellie begged her parents to let her go back to the Magic Land, this time under the supervision of her uncle, an experienced sailor Charlie Black. Ellie, Black, Toto and Kaggi-Karr, overcoming many dangers, managed to reach the goal and free the Scarecrow and the Woodcutter. By that time, the Scarecrow's health had seriously deteriorated, because for the fiery speeches he read from the top of the tower, Oorfene Deuce ordered him to be put in a damp and dank punishment cell. However, being at large among kind and caring friends, the Scarecrow quickly recovered.

The freed captives successfully escaped the chase, and moved to the Purple Country, where they managed to overthrow the cruel viceroy Enkin Fled. The general battle that took place soon with the main forces of Oorfene Deuce decided the outcome of the war: Deuce's power fell, and the Scarecrow was reinstated as the Ruler of the Emerald City. At the same time, the straw thinker figured out how to re-educate blockheads: city craftsmen carved smiling faces instead of evil faces, and blockheads turned into peaceful gardeners. For this truly ingenious decision, the enthusiastic townspeople awarded the Scarecrow with the title of Thrice Wise.

After the magnificent celebrations, Ellie, Charlie Black and Toto left for their homeland, and the Scarecrow began to establish a peaceful life in the Magic Land. On his orders, the blockheads exterminated almost the entire population of bloodthirsty saber-toothed tigers, making the path through the forest safe along the road paved with yellow bricks.

In "Seven Underground Kings"

A few months later, the Scarecrow received the devastating news that Ellie, along with her second cousin Fred, was languishing as a prisoner of underground miners who live in a huge Cave right under Fairyland. The children were brought to the miners by chance - they examined one cave in their homeland, but a collapse cut off their way back, and after long wanderings among the underground labyrinths they ended up in the miners' possessions. There, they were detained by the seven local kings, in the hope that Ellie could recover the lost Sleeping Water, vital to the existence of the entire Underworld. Shortly before this, the source of miraculous water was destroyed by the traitor Ruf Bilan, who fled after the overthrow of Urfin in the dungeon; and he inspired the kings with the idea that Ellie is a fairy, capable of returning Soporific water by witchcraft. The news of these events was brought by the Scarecrow and his friends Totoshka, who managed to escape from captivity.

Filled with anxiety for the fate of Ellie, the Scarecrow threatened the underground kings with war (in which he was warmly supported by the Woodcutter and the Lion). However, Ellie, through the mediation of the fled Fred, managed to dissuade the Scarecrow from a dangerous decision, and the mechanic Lestar figured out how to settle the matter amicably. Delegation upper world led by the Scarecrow, with the consent of the seven kings, descended into the Underground Country and organized work to restore the destroyed source, in exchange for the success of which Ellie was promised freedom.

While the renovation work was going on and the kings were conspiring to seize sole power, the Scarecrow came up with another revolutionary idea: he suggested that the Time Keeper Rugero put all the underground kings to sleep at once, and along with them other parasites, and then inspire them that they had lived honestly all their lives labor . The plan worked brilliantly. millennial royalty in the Cave fell without a single shot, the former freeloaders turned into kind, hardworking people, and the people of the miners breathed freely. Soon, the miners generally began to move upstairs, to empty lands in the neighborhood of the country of the Munchkins.

Also, the Scarecrow, to whom the climate of the Cave was harmful, left the gloomy dungeon together with the rescued Ellie and with his other friends.

In "The Fiery God of the Marranos"

When Ellie, Fred and Toto went to Kansas on the dragon Oyhho, the Scarecrow, in order to overshadow the bitterness of separation, conceived a new large-scale business: he decided to turn the Emerald City into an island. According to the drawings drawn up by the Ruler, the stone-breaking workers dug a huge pit around the city and let water into it from the Affira River. The foundation pit turned into a canal where boats could float and children could swim; but the main purpose of the canal was to increase the defenses of the Emerald City in case a new enemy swooped in.

A few years later, life proved the Scarecrow right: Oorfene Deuce again moved to the city, who managed to stand at the head of the backward, but warlike people Marranov. Unfortunately, even the canal could not save the city from capture, although it delayed the attackers for a long time. The Scarecrow and the Woodcutter were again captured by Jusu, and again refused the cooperation he offered with the dictator. They were not even seduced by Deuce's offer to give them freedom and appoint them governors of their countries under his supreme dominion. The refusal of the Scarecrow and the Woodcutter, like last time, was categorical. The angry Oorfene Deuce wanted to destroy the recalcitrant captives, but this time he was held back by another circumstance: he wanted to find out from the Scarecrow the secret of the magic box, with which the usurper could restore the shaken discipline in his army. This box (more precisely, a magic TV) was presented to the Scarecrow by Stella a few years before the second rise of Deuce. At that time, work on the canal ended and the Scarecrow was again exhausted from boredom and idleness; Stella's gift, which allowed at any moment to see what this or that person was doing in the Magic Land, no matter how far away he was, entertained the Scarecrow for a while, but here's a promise to look after Deuce, who in those years did not pose any danger , Scarecrow quickly forgot. Now Oorfene has seized power and the life of the Scarecrow with the Woodcutter was directly connected with the secret of the magic box.

It is not known how this confrontation would have ended if in Magic land guests from Kansas did not come again - now it was no longer Ellie, but her younger sister, who looked like two drops of water, Annie, with her friend Tim and doggie Artoshka. The children took an active part in the fate of the Scarecrow, the Woodcutter and other prisoners. They obtained the Soporific Water, drugged the guards guarding the prisoners, and took them to freedom. Again, as ten years before, their path lay in the Purple Country. And again Oorfene sent his army against them, this time consisting of Marranos, in order to rectify the situation with one blow. But times have changed and it didn’t come to a battle: on the approaches to the Purple Country, the Marrans discovered that Deuce had deceived them in the most cynical way, and the power of Oorfene came to an end, now irrevocable.

In "Yellow Mist"

However, although the Fairyland would have to go through two more armed conflicts in the coming years, already after the war with the Marranos, it became noticeable that the individual role of the Scarecrow in the ongoing events gradually decreased. The course of events no longer depended so much on his decisions, and the defense of the Magic Land from enemies began to be more and more successfully carried out together, through the joint efforts of many characters.

Nevertheless, when a year later the giantess-sorceress Arachne woke up from a centuries-old sleep, the Scarecrow remained at the “battle post”. He again led the defense of the Emerald City, as a result of which the sorceress, who tried to swim across the canal at night and get into the city, was fired upon with cobblestones; Arachne almost drowned and was forced to flee.

The Evil Fairy did not calm down on this and sent a poisonous Yellow Fog to the Fairyland, which prevented people from breathing, seeing and talking. Moreover, the Fog did not pass the sun's rays well, and because of this, for the first time since its creation, autumn and then winter came to the Magic Land. The inhabitants of the country were threatened with mass starvation and death from frost. In these unprecedented conditions for the magical land, the Scarecrow led the further struggle against Arachne and took all possible measures to limit the harmful effects of the Yellow Mist. The straw sage came up with a way to provide protective filters for animals and birds, organized mass medical care for the population. But this was clearly not enough to defeat Arachne, and then the Scarecrow decided to send a messenger to Kansas for help.

Annie, Tim and Charlie Black, who arrived at his call, energetically joined the common struggle. Under the leadership of Charlie Black, an iron self-propelled giant Tilly-Willi was created, designed to destroy Arachne, and a mobile fortress wagon was equipped. The Scarecrow became one of the members of the crew of this fortress, which, together with Tilly-Willi and a detachment of blockheads, advanced to the refuge of Arachne. The path was full of dangers, but the Scarecrow and his friends won: Arachne found her death among the rocks, and the Yellow Mist disappeared from the Fairyland forever. The tribe of gnomes, previously subordinate to Arachne, swore allegiance to the Scarecrow, promising him to keep a chronicle of the Magic Land as a "tribute".

In the book "The Secret of the Abandoned Castle"

Two years later, the Scarecrow again had to deal with defense issues, now against Aliens from the distant planet Rameria, who flew to Earth in order to annex it to their possessions. In this war, mainly positional, the Scarecrow coordinated the actions of the "scouts" - Mentaho, Castallo and Arzak Ilsor, who had gone over to their side. In addition, at the request of the Scarecrow, Annie, Tim, and Fred, who had become an engineer, flew in from Kansas. Fred armed the residents of the Emerald City with real guns, which, fortunately, were not needed. The Scarecrow also came up with the idea to protect the blockheads with mirrored shields so that they could not be harmed by the Aliens' beam pistols. The raid of blockheads on the enemy camp ended in complete success. Before the raid on the Emerald City of the Ramerian helicopter squadron, the Scarecrow competently built a defense, providing an air barrier and reserve detachments of the city's defenders, but the squadron did not reach the target: on the approaches to the city it was attacked and scattered by the giant eagles of Carfax. When they managed to bring pipes with Sleeping Water to the alien camp, the Scarecrow personally, riding on Oikhho, brought the news to his friends that "the mice fell asleep" (that is, Sleeping Water was delivered and it is not necessary to blow up the Ramerian starship with the help of Fred's mine).

In addition to conducting military operations, the Scarecrow did a lot for the improvement of the life of the Magic Land. In particular, on his orders, lanterns were installed along the entire road paved with yellow brick; through big river threw a bridge; and a library appeared in the Emerald City.

Borrowing an image by other authors

He is a character in the fairy tale by Leonid Vladimirsky "Pinocchio in the Emerald City".

Character

By nature, the Scarecrow is smart, charming, resourceful, at first a little shy. He is good-natured, loves to show off, but also to rejoice, like a child, to sing songs if there are no subjects nearby. He has read many books from the library of the Emerald City and likes to insert "smart" and long words into his speech from time to time, flaunting "encyclopedic knowledge"; usually pronounces such words in syllables. Touchy, but outgoing. Sometimes he is careless and intemperate in his language: in the second book, he blurted out to the enemies that Ellie was already in the Magic Land, which is why he ended up in a punishment cell and made it difficult for his friends to fight Oorfene Deuce.

Volkov himself admitted that the Scarecrow was his favorite hero.

Individual characteristics

Doesn't need food or water.
Doesn't need sleep.
Not subject to fatigue and pain.
Able to see in the dark as well as during the day.
Loses the ability to see, hear, and speak if his eyes, ears, and mouth are washed away by dampness or water. However, it can easily restore lost abilities, it is enough just to touch up the face with fresh paint.
He also easily returns to life, even if his "body" was torn apart (as was the case with the Flying Monkeys) - you just need to put all the parts together and stuff them with straw again.

The world-famous book “The Wizard of the Emerald City” and all the parts in order following the main one were read by everyone: from young to old, re-reading and reading books to holes several times, because the stories were really exciting and interesting unusual for those times the plot of Volkov's books.

Summary of the "Wizard of the Emerald City"

This is the story of the girl Ellie and her dog Toto, by a strange coincidence or really thanks to the magical powers that ended up in the Magic Land.

In the process of trying to return home, she meets three creatures: one is made of straw, another is made of iron, and the third is an ordinary-looking lion, but speaking a human language, however, like all the other inhabitants of a fabulous place. The author of The Wizard of the Emerald City described the experiences of his friends so colorfully and in detail that the children of the whole world sincerely worried about them and wrote heartfelt letters to Alexander Volkov.

Book Two: Oorfene Deuce and His Wooden Soldiers

An apprentice of an evil sorceress and part-time carpenter, he randomly became the owner of a powerful powder that turns any object into a living being. Thanks to his ability to work with wood, he creates an entire army, usurps power in the world of fairy-tale men.

Resourceful friends find a way to warn Ellie, who goes to the rescue with her uncle and frees the country from the oppression of Oorfene Deuce, who was expelled in disgrace.

"Seven Underground Kings" - a prequel to "The Wizard of Oz"

The contents of Volkov summed up to the moment of foundation fairyland how it was divided into sectors and due to what circumstances the country of miners arose. The life of seven kings in one kingdom is described, and the reader will also learn the history of the emergence of the sacred Soporific Spring. Not without Ellie: again, quite by accident, she enters the world of miners with her cousin and again helps local residents achieve justice.

"The Fiery God of the Marranos" - the fourth part of the story

In the fourth part, Urfin Deuce again comes to the fore, having accumulated hatred and a desire for revenge for years, as well as again to enslave the inhabitants of a fairy-tale land. He manages to subdue the Marran tribe, who were one of the most primitive tribes in Fairyland. He begins to gradually seize territories and again becomes a usurper. In parallel with these events in Kansas, Ellie's grown sister, together with a friend, after hearing stories about the wonderful world, go to visit and arrive on time. After a series of adventures, they save the inhabitants from oppression and return home happily.

Book Five: "Yellow Mist"

In this part, Oorfene Deuce appears in a completely new guise: he seemed to be reborn anew and stood on the bright side in the fight against an ancient sorceress who wants to turn the inhabitants of the Magic Land into her slaves and sends them to attack.

The whole country revolts against the sorceress, and Annie and Uncle Charlie are also called in, who again have to help their friends. New adventures, a lot of interesting twists and turns delight the reader.

"The Secret of the Abandoned Castle": the final part

Here the author departed from the idea of all parts of the "Wizard of the Emerald City": all the sorceresses and sorceresses, peoples were mentioned in order. Now Volkov decided to include an alien race in the plot, because the year of writing (1975) just corresponded to various fantasies about space.

Taught by bitter experience, the residents immediately send messengers to Annie, who asks for help from Freddy and Tim. All the inhabitants of the Magic Land are involved in the battle with alien creatures, and good, as usual, triumphs.

Significant characters

Of course, it is unlikely that it will be possible to list and mention the interesting inhabitants of all parts of the Wizard of the Emerald City in order, but the most important are:

Ellie is the main character of the first part, a girl from the human world, originally from Kansas.
Toto, aka Totoshka - Ellie's dog.
Scarecrow - a fairy-tale man made of straw, later the ruler of the Emerald City.
The Cowardly Lion, later called the Bold.
Tin Woodman- A man made of iron tends to rust under the influence of water.
Oorfene Deuce is a carpenter, a student of the sorceress Gingema, who twice tried to usurp the Fairyland.
Gingema is an evil sorceress who lives in the Blue Country. Was accidentally killed by Ellie's house.
Bastinda is an evil sorceress who feared water under pain of death, the ruler of the Purple Country.
Din Gior is a soldier with a very long beard who guarded the entrance to the Emerald Palace.
Kaggi-Kar is a human-speaking crow, a close friend of the Scarecrow.
Great Goodwin is the ruler of the Emerald City before the Scarecrow, a man who accidentally became a "powerful wizard".
Faramant is a close friend of Dean Gior and the keeper of the green glasses.

"The Wizard of the Emerald City" and all subsequent books in this wonderful series were written by Alexander Melentyevich Volkov, Russian writer, who simultaneously worked as a teacher, director of a school in Yaroslavl and studied at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics, which he graduated at the age of forty. He had a great passion for learning languages, which served as the basis for writing the first book, The Wizard of the Emerald City. Volkov was attracted by the story "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz": he took it in his native English language as exercises in translation, the notes of which he eventually corrected and published as a separate novel.

The book was so popular that the subsequent parts of The Wizard of Oz had to be written, telling in order about all the inhabitants of this fabulous area: the munchkins and their battle with wooden soldiers, the gloomy carpenter Jus and his repeated attempts to enslave the entire Magic Land, about the girl Ellie, her relatives and friends who, by the will of fate, ended up in this country.

The main idea that runs through all the parts in order of The Wizard of the Emerald City and subsequent books touches on the most important spiritual values that are held in high esteem not only in the world of people, but also among fairy tale characters and even animals: fidelity in friendship, a sense of compassion for one's neighbor, justice and honor.

We will search among the characters of the fandom

Character groups

Total characters - 123

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Ouid giantess girl

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The second lady-in-waiting of the sorceress Stella, stole the Golden Hat and, with the help of the Flying Monkeys, seized power in the Pink Country. She was expelled, later came to power in the Blue Country by deceit, but was also expelled

2 19 2

The main positive male character in the books of Sergei Sukhinov. White knight. Born in the Land of Underground Miners, after his father was arrested on the orders of King Tognar, he fled to the Yellow Country and was brought up in the palace of the sorceress Villina. He found the legendary sword of the sorcerer Thorn, participated in a campaign in the Underground Country, conducted reconnaissance, during which he learned the secret of the Gates of Darkness. Married Ellie Smith

1 0 1

Kansas farmer, mother of Ellie and Annie Smith, wife of John Smith, sister of Charlie Black, grandmother of Chris Tull and/or Annushka (Annie) and Tom (boy)

0 2 0

Daughter of Alarm and Ellie Smith, sister of Tom (boy)

0 2 0

An evil giantess sorceress, Karena's daughter. Appeared in the Magic Land in ancient times and was put to sleep by Gurrikap for 5 thousand years. After waking up, she tried to conquer the Magic Land by casting Yellow Mist on it.

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Blacksmith-Blinker, member of the Dark Squad. Built the Iron Castle and the first car in Enchanted Land

0 0 0

Chronicler from the Land of Underground Miners

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Dog, companion of Annie Smith on her travels, grandson of Totoshka

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Saber-toothed tiger, was defeated by the cave lion Grau and fled to the Land of Weeds

0 14 20

General of the Ramerian army, red-bearded menwit. He led the expedition of the starship "Diavona" to conquer the Earth. The owner of Ilsor. He was put to sleep by the Arzaks and the inhabitants of the Magic Land

0 0 0

Prince of the Cloud World, Irina's fiancé. He opposed the Lord of Darkness Pakir and was cast down with his people underground, where he became the king of Mist. His ghost lived in the ruins of a castle on the shores of the Underground Sea.

0 1 1

Chef at the Emerald Palace

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One of the seven underground kings, orange

1 3 0

Evil sorceress, ruler of the Purple Country, sister of Gingema, mistress of the Golden Hat. Killed by Ellie Smith after being doused with water

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The Keeper of Time who proposed to put non-reigning kings to sleep for six months

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Marran, colonel in the army of Oorfene Djus, then one of the elders of the tribe

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One of the two Rudokop doctors

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A prince who rebelled against his father and was banished to the Cave along with his supporters. First ruler of the Underground Miners, ancestor of all Underground Kings

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Leader of the Black Dragons. Captured in the Forest of Ghosts, freed by Korina, helped her rise to power in the Emerald City

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Descendant of Basilisks. It looks like a stingray with a long tail, decorated with a bony crest, covered with blue scales, fringed along the edges of the wings. The head is bar-shaped, the eyes are below. One ordinary, the other magical, paralyzes people with indescribable horror for a day or two. A sullen and unsociable animal. He is only friends with a ghost named Mom and Parcelius. It feeds on butterflies. He was with Parcelius until he went into the caves to look for the Black Flame. Then he nailed to the Fairy People.

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Bride of the Tin Woodman, mother of Princess Langa. For many years she lived in the village of Sosenki, cut off from the rest of the world by the Forest of Ghosts and the Infinite Wall

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Good sorceress, ruler of the Yellow Country. Able to instantly move from one place to another, possesses a book that shrinks and enlarges at will. Met Ellie and Annie Smith on their first trip to Fairyland, sent them both along the yellow brick road. According to the books of Sukhinov - the Keeper of the Territory of Thorn, by birth - an Eskimo

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A girl from the planet Irena, who came to Earth and the Land of Elms through a synchrotunnel

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One of two mechanical mules built by Fred Canning

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Leader of the Menvits, ruler of the planet Rameria. Sent the starship Diavona to Earth with the goal of conquering

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A dog from a neighboring farm, with whom Totoshka was at enmity

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The heroine of the magazine version of "Secrets of the Abandoned Castle" by Alexander Volkov. Arzachka, a nurse from the starship Diavona

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Evil sorceress, ruler of the Blue Country. Caused hurricanes, died pinned down by the Smiths' wagon. According to the books, Sukhinova adopted and trained Korina, who got lost in the forest.

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Water serpent from the Land of the Weeds, guardian of the Dark River

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A cave lion from the planet Rameria. Moved to the Fairyland, where he became the assistant of the Bold Lion

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One of the owls of Gingema, who became the adviser and companion of Oorfene Deuce

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According to Sukhinov's books, that was the name of the Tin Woodman when he was still a man.

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An illusionist from Kansas who got to the Magic Land in a hot air balloon. Founder and first ruler of the Emerald City. For many years, he successfully convinced everyone that he was a Great and Terrible wizard. Exposed by Ellie and her friends, returned to Kansas, leaving the Scarecrow as his successor

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A giant wizard who created the Magic Land according to the books of Volkov and Kuznetsov and put Arachne to sleep. According to Kuznetsov, originally from Rameria

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Mayor of Stellaria, the capital of the Pink Country. One of the leaders of the uprising against the self-proclaimed Queen Agnet

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A boy from a nearby farm who tried to stone Kaggi Karr. According to Kuznetsov, he became the husband of Ellie Smith and the father of Chris Tull

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Kansas farmer, father of Ellie and Annie Smith, husband of Anna Smith, grandfather of Chris Tull and/or Annushka (Annie) and Tom (boy)

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Long-bearded Soldier of the Emerald City, was the only person in Goodwin's army. One of the closest friends and associates of the Scarecrow the Wise, was appointed field marshal, a participant in the wars with Oorfene Deuce, Arachne, Menvits

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An ugly orphan boy from Big World, cripple from birth. Wanting to get beauty and health, he came to the Magic Land with Ellie Smith. He got what he wanted from Corina by betraying Ellie, but then, tormented by remorse, he saved her. He became the Black Knight of the Lord of Darkness Pakir, gathered and led the Dark Squad. After being defeated in a fight for the sword, Thorn languished in prison, from where he was released by Princess Langa.

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Iron giant, guardian of the Gates of Darkness, who lost his memory and was reduced by Korina

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Giant, ruler of the Fairy Folk

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Munchkin, a woodcutter who gradually turned from an ordinary person to iron due to the evil magic of Gingema, provoked by his bride's aunt. After that, having lost his heart, he returned the word to his bride and began to live alone in the forest until he got caught in the rain and rusted. Saved by Ellie, Toto and the Scarecrow. The woodcutter told them about his dream to have a heart again and joined their company. The Flying Monkeys overpowered the Tin Woodman, throwing him into a gorge on sharp rocks. After the death of Bastinda, he was restored by the Migunami and called by them to rule the Purple Country. Having received a heart from Goodwin and seeing Ellie to Stella, he returned to the Purple Country and really became the ruler of the Winkies

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The crow who advised the Scarecrow to acquire brains. She appeared in the Emerald City to the court of the Scarecrow as his "oldest friend", "teacher and mentor" and remained there. Created a bird relay race, becoming the General Director of Enchantland Communications. I took a letter to Kansas for Ellie asking for help. Acted as Ruler of the Emerald Isle while the Scarecrow was in captivity

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Giant sorceress, mother of Arachne. Enslaved a tribe of Taureks, also known as Dwarven Chroniclers. Was robbed and left to fend for herself by her own daughter

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Giant eagle. He was persecuted by the leader of his tribe, Arrajes, who was trying to usurp Carfax's turn to bring out an heir. He organized a conspiracy against Arrajes, which, due to betrayal, was revealed. Rescued by Oorfene Deuce. In gratitude, Carfax served Oorfene, creating the image of the Fiery God until he saw through his deceit. He retired to the mountains, where he became the leader of an eagle tribe. Participated in the fight against Arachne. Has a son Goriek

The book "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" by the American Lyman Frank Baum was published in 1900, and its sequels were published until 1920, until Baum's death. In total, he wrote 14 stories about the Land of Oz, but after that other authors took up the universe, writing a total of more than fifty works.

Among them were both the son of Lyman and his great-grandson, however, the entire circulation of the first was withdrawn with a scandal - after all, the intellectual rights to works about the Land of Oz belonged to another publishing house.

Alexander Volkov wrote his version in 1939, then rewrote it again 20 years later, deviating even further from Baum's original, and then again.

Despite the fact that he released only 6 books, he wrote them even longer than Baum did his 14 - 37 years passed between the release of the first and the last (the last came out in 1976), direct hello to George R.R. Martin.

Only the first books of the Volkov and Baum cycles tell the same story: a girl and her dog land on an evil sorceress, find the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman and the Lion, then travel together to the Emerald City along the yellow brick road so that its ruler grants their wishes, but he turns out to be a liar. Further, the authors diverge in completely different directions - Volkov wrote the sequels on his own, with the continuations of Baum, they do not intersect in almost anything.

This is a saying, now let's go directly to the curious facts.

political fairy tale

Baum's The Wizard of Oz was, according to literary critics, a political satire, like many other classics: Swift's Gulliver's Travels, The Divine Comedy» Dante and so on.

The Tin Woodman (in the original, however, he is tin - Tinman) personified the workers from whom industrial society required superhuman efforts and gradually took away their humanity, turned them into robots.

Was the scary collectively a farmer who had to unite with the worker to fight for his rights. The lion personified the army, the Winkers and Munchkins - careless townsfolk, and the Flying Monkeys - Pinkerton agents, and so on.

Volkov in his sequels for a long time stuck in the theme of overthrowing tyranny, taken from the first book of Baum - the heroes free the Munchkins from Gingema, the Migunovs from Bastinda, the Emerald City from the manipulator Goodwin, then from Oorfene Deuce, the underground miners from their Seven Kings (they erased the memory and convinced that they are ordinary workers), jumpers - again from Oorfene, the entire Magic Land - from the power of Arachne, and then the whole Earth - from being captured by aliens.

most expensive movie

In the same 1939, when Volkov's first book was released, the Hollywood film adaptation of Baum's book, The Wizard of Oz, which was the most expensive film of that time and one of the first color films, also appeared at the box office.

During the filming, several directors changed, among whom were two people who later (in the same way - in turn) worked on Gone with the Wind. The picture still holds a special place in the hearts of many Americans who were amazed at the time by the splendor of the magical land.

The juicy colors of the chic scenery demolished the tower for the viewer, accustomed to black and white films, even more than 3D in Avatar - we were 8 years ago.

Batman, Fast and Furious and Michael Jackson

In 1978, another remarkable film adaptation was released, also a musical - Wiz. It was directed by the legendary Sidney Lumet (“12 Angry Men”), the script was written by Joel Schumacher (the one who would later send the whole genre to coma with his “Batman and Robin”), and the producer was Rob Cohen, director of Three X's and the first, the best Fast and the Furious.

Acid Monsters In 1978, another remarkable film adaptation was released, also a musical - "Wiz". It was directed by the legendary Sidney Lumet (“12 Angry Men”), the script was written by Joel Schumacher (the one who would later send the whole genre to coma with his “Batman and Robin”), and the producer was Rob Cohen, director of Three X's and the first, the best Fast and the Furious.

But this strange confluence of familiar names is just a cake, the cherry on which is the name of the performer of the role of the Scarecrow. They were young, still black Michael Jackson.

But he did not stand out against the general background, since all four of the characters were African American, like many other heroes. Be sure to check out the Visa trailer or the full analysis from Nostalgia Critic - nothing more stoned, I'm sure you haven't seen it yet. It's hard to believe that this is a real film of the seventies, and not some kind of Internet duck.

acid monsters

Compared to Volkov's version, Baum's original books seem extremely chaotic, absurd, and at times downright addictive. Baum's creatures will have to devote a number of sub-points - they deserve it.

A stag is a creature assembled from two sofas, a severed head of an elk hanging on the wall, palm branches (instead of wings) and a broom (in the role of a tail), which was breathed into life by the same revitalizing powder that Volkov used Deuce to create his wooden army.

Even earlier, this powder was sprinkled with goats, which turned into a kind of horse, and another scarecrow - Pumpkinhead Jack, who was distinguished from the Scarecrow by large growth, lankyness, a “skeleton” made of wood and a pumpkin instead of a head (when one rots, they bury it and cut out a new one). But in general, yes, Baum has two animated scarecrows among the characters. Jack became the inspiration for Tim Burton's Skeleton Jack, the protagonist of The Night Before Christmas.

One of the first robots in Baum's literature was not the Tin Woodman - he was hollow inside, like Bender, he was rather one of the first cyborgs, gradually replacing all human parts with "augmentations". The first robot was the clockwork Tik-Tok - a pot-bellied mechanical man who often lacked a clockwork to complete the phrase he had begun.

One of the first transgenders in literature is Billina, Dorothy's hen, who at some point replaced Toto as the girl's companion from Kansas. An American rooster named Bill turned out to be a chicken and was renamed Billina by Dorothy, and once Oz gave the animal the ability to talk, the hen explained that she still had doubts about her gender. She then, however, still carried eggs.

There were centaurs on bone wheels instead of hooves, armless jumping short men (humanely turned into Marrans by Volkov), sentient vegetables, live bagels, an animated glass cat, which was then lobotomized to make it more obedient, Flatheads - people without a skull who wore their brains in bank in your pocket and many others.

Bloodthirsty storytellers

It is clear that if we take the old European fairy tales, then there is darkness in general, there is so much gore and horror there that Shakespeare will wash himself. Baum, for example, described an aunt who chopped off heads beautiful girls and wore them as if they were her own, changing them daily like hats. She had special plans for Dorothy's head.

Volkov, in his version, completely removed the heroin nonsense and softened the cruel moments (for example, Goodwin sends Ellie to Bastinda in order to “deprive her of her strength”, Oz frankly “ordered” Dorothy from Baum, demanding to kill), but a lot still remains.

In the first book, the Woodcutter cut down the Cannibal (whom Volkov himself introduced, Baum did not have him), 40 wolves and dropped a couple of tigers into the abyss.

The Scarecrow unscrewed the heads of the crows, and ordered the extermination of the saber-toothed tigers, preserved in the Magic Land from prehistoric times and being an endangered species. And they were exterminated.

But the most terrible thing is that two cats died in Volkov's books. Arachne blew one of them against a tree, it was all right, she is still a villain, but the second was cut off by the Tin Woodman himself, when the cat tried to devour the queen of mice. That, of course, was very useful to the heroes, but is it normal to chop off the head of a cat that is chasing a mouse? Totoshka and Artoshka, who tried to devour Queen Ramina every time, he did not chop off his head. Yes, I held it by the collar.

Science fiction

Volkov’s Tik-Tok never appeared, but he transferred his idea to the Tin Woodman himself - in the Russian version it was no longer hollow, like Baum’s, but mechanical, inside there were a bunch of gears and springs that allowed him to move and speak.

In the fourth book, Ellie and Fred (who went to Fairyland with her in the third volume) are already adults. Ellie has a younger sister, Annie, who, along with her friend Tim, also dream of visiting Enchanted Land. For them, Fred creates mechanical mules powered by solar panels - hello to Boston Dynamics and their unfortunate robot mules, which everyone kicks.

In the fifth book (the most interesting, in my opinion), to fight the giant sorceress Arachne, Uncle Ellie creates a huge robot to match her - by analogy with Evas or Jaegers fighting colossal monsters.

This robot, Tilly Willy, had to be wound up, but then it was improved, and he could start himself when he moved. In the sixth book, in the Magic Land, aliens land at all: Menvit masters holding Arzak slaves in hypnotic captivity. Aliens in helicopters fighting giant eagles - not even Tolkien had this. Our heroes are trying to help the Arzaks throw off the yoke of the Menvits by giving them emeralds from the treasury of the city of the same name - they deprive hypnosis of its power.

Kuznetsov, who continued the Volkov series, moved even further into science fiction - the heroes got to the planet of the Menvits and Arzaks, and to the open sea - far beyond the borders of the Magic Land. It was Kuznetsov who came up with one of the most fascinating Vehicle that struck my imagination in childhood - a catamaran assembled on the basis of the top of the Gingema Stone.

Enchanted Stones, placed around the Magic Land, attracted travelers, after which they died of thirst. Annie and Tim got past them thanks to their wits - they led their mules exactly between the stones, where their attraction balanced each other (through the Lagrange point, if you like).

So, the top of one stone fell off, retaining its magnetic-gravitational properties, it hovered above the ground, and therefore became the basis for the Arzak catamaran, on which the heroes crossed both deserts and seas.

The same Kuznetsov also came up with the fact that under the lid in the Gingema stone there was a teleportation well, a space-time puncture leading to the aforementioned planet. It was in his book that I first heard the explanation of teleportation with a sheet of paper and a pencil puncture, which was shown to us with such a clever look in Interstellar.

Artifact Management

As in any fairy tale, these books contain many magic gizmos. Silver shoes, revitalizing powder, a magic TV showing any place of your choice, Arachne's giant flying carpet and a rug cut off from her, the Fox King's hoop, the Mouse Queen's whistle, and so on.

It is curious that Volkov keeps track of all the introduced artifacts, does not forget about the elements and heroes that appeared earlier, each time something new is introduced in the book, which will certainly be used in the next story.

Since this can lead to overkill, some elements are displayed, but only with a logical explanation. Silver Slippers are lost during the return to Kansas. The invisibility hoop from the fourth book is lost in the fifth because of a joke by the cook who put it on a doe. Doe became invisible and fled, the devil knows where to look for her.

The mechanical mules, introduced in the same fourth book, were not taken into the fifth, because in the Yellow Fog their solar batteries would still not be charged, the magic TV also did not work in the fog - another minus an artifact, the flying rug served the heroes in the fifth book, but lost magic power with the death of Arachne - minus the artifact.

Volkov obviously made sure that the solutions to the problems were not monotonous and did not stick each time into invisibility or “let's call the eagles”, and also that the heroes were not stupid and did not ignore the obvious solution to the problem with the help of a strong artifact - that's what they are displayed for. Hello, Time-Turner Rowling.

The precious Hoop that makes the wearer invisible and adapts to the size of his head, coupled with giant eagles, hint that Volkov read Tolkien. The joke is that Volkov uses eagles whenever possible and necessary. The question “why didn’t they just fly on eagles” does not arise.

But here is another problem - against Arachne, for example, the heroes decided to call the eagle to fight, but for some reason did not call the tame dragons. In general, everything is not without sin.

Systematization

Volkov carefully works out all the characters, even if they appear for a couple of paragraphs, nameless in Baum, in Volkov they receive the names of Gingem and Bastinda, the long-bearded Din Gior, the queen of mice Ramina and many others. Volkov added Chatterboxes and Jumpers to the Munchkins and Miguns of Baum - Baum had the peoples themselves, but did not receive characteristic names.

Volkov generally streamlined and systematized the description of the Magic Land. In his books, both the narrative itself and the description of the terrain, magic, and even the internal state of the characters are much richer and clearer.

It is much easier to visualize what is happening here, while Baum often writes something absurd, surreal, drawn out and frankly muddy, it is difficult to see a clear line in the sequels of his first book. storyline, heroes simply stagger from place to place and are surprised by more and more wonderful creatures and peoples. This could bring his series closer to Alice in Wonderland or Gulliver's Travels, but it falls short of them, at times resembling a confused recording of a dream.

The book “Yellow Mist” is especially memorable, which became the darkest, because the Magic Land had to face a serious natural disaster.

The yellow mist sent by the sorceress Arachne blocked the sun and caused coughing. The crop was dying, people were walking with watery eyes, seeing almost nothing in the dense fog. In addition to the difficult conditions that fell on all the inhabitants of the Magic Land, they remembered scientific methods fog control - nostril filters, cleaning rooms through sealing and smoke - settling, the smoke carried the fog particles along with it.

In general, it was the ingenuity in solving the problem in quite logical scientific ways that amazed the imagination. Yes, magical artifacts often solved the problem, but how exactly to use these tools to solve the problem also had to be figured out, and complex plans were also used there.

All sisters on earrings

Tolkien at one time greatly surprised me by introducing 13 gnomes into The Hobbit, who stick together into one lump and do not give the reader much chance or reason to somehow distinguish between them. Volkov has not much fewer characters than Tolkien in The Hobbit, but each has his own role, his own talents, his finest hour. All sisters will definitely get earrings, each will have time to accomplish a feat, and this feat will be surely appreciated, then retold and awarded the order from Scarecrow. They will definitely cry over the heroism of this feat: the Tin Woodman, realizing late that he will rust from tears, the Lion, brushing away the tears with a brush on his tail and drying it in the sun, and the Munchkins, putting their hats with bells on the ground so that they do not stop them from crying with their ringing.

Although, of course, recent book someone shines far from the same as in the first stories. The scarecrow, having received brains, became smarter and the author gave most of the breakthrough finds to him. But the Woodcutter eventually retreated into the shade. He was a bright hero who solved many problems of the first book (more than half, probably), in the second book he appears as a Terminator, an invincible and formidable warrior, who just let him reach for an ax or a hammer, and he will chop down the entire army of wooden soldiers.

They also gave the Woodcutter an epic battle scene, where he, alone in the field, hacked a log-soldier of Oorfene and heroically fell - they took it in number.

But already in the third book, he essentially did nothing but sit and rust, in the fourth book of Marrana he was very easily tied, in the fifth book, the Woodcutter did nothing at all, because the role of "Iron Man" essentially passed to his enlarged copy - Tilly - Willy.

Well, Annie in the fifth book, consider that she flew to the Magic Land in vain - it only fell to her lot to call the eagle, but others could also do this. Tim got a lot more useful things. It's funny that the image of the girl was initially central and nominally remained so - she is a symbol that unites the link, but in reality the rest cope with everything, Annie just sits still. One Kaggi-karr in each book plows to the fullest.