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

thing! He heard China Girl calling to him through the fog, her voice thick and muted. Making his way toward her, he picked her up and continued to run as baboons screeched all around him. Suddenly, he ran straight into one of the winged creatures. He let out a scream. So did the monkey. Stopping, Oz realized that he had run into Finley. This was Glinda’s plan? To have them trapped in a blinding fog?
    Finally, the four companions made their way up a steep hill and rose out of the fog. They found themselves standing on the edge of a cliff.
    “What do we do?” Oz wondered.
    “What do we do,” Glinda repeated. “Just do what I do,” she said with a smile. She looked remarkably calm despite the circumstances. “Unless you’ve got something?” She wondered. But Oz just shook his head. Turning, Glinda stepped closer to the edge. Then, as Oz watched in horror, she jumped, disappearing into the fog.
    “Wait! What are you doing?” Oz said, panicked. Then he saw Finley lift China Girl and approach the edge. “Where are you going?” he exclaimed.
    “She said to do what she did,” Finley calmly replied.
    “Just ’cause she jumps off a cliff, you jump off a cliff?!” Oz yelled.
    “I have wings,” Finley said matter-of-factly.
    “What about me?!?” Oz screamed.
    “You’ll be all right,” Finley said. “You’re a wizard.” And with that, Finley lifted China Girl off her porcelain feet and jumped off the edge of the cliff.
    “That’s not funny!” Oz called out after him.
    Oz was now all alone. Behind him, he could hear the baboons growing closer. Panicked, he looked one way and then the other. There was no choice. He stepped out into the nothingness, let out a bloodcurdling scream, and was swallowed up by the fog. A moment later the baboons went soaring past overhead.
    As soon as the baboons had disappeared, a huge soaplike bubble rose out of the fog. Glinda was inside. Two more bubbles followed, carrying China Girl and Oz. Finley flew alongside.
    “Look at me! I’m a bird! I’m flying!” said China Girl, amazed at floating high above the land in a translucent bubble.
    Inside his bubble, Oz tried to get his bearings. But every time he moved, the bubble would spin. He had no control! As China Girl and Finley laughed, Oz finally righted himself.
    They floated up and above the thick mist until they burst into the sunlight. Oz smiled as he looked around. It was sort of like flying in a hot-air balloon. Although he wasn’t quite sure who was steering. Behind him, and to his left and right, was nothing but blue sky. But right in front of him, right where they were heading, he saw what looked like a sparkling, translucent wall. It stretched east to west as far as the eye could see. Everything on the other side appeared hazy, almost like a mirage.
    “Is that a wall?” Oz asked.
    “Of sorts,” Glinda answered. “It repels our enemies and protects us from harm.”
    “But we’re headed straight toward it!” Oz cried, his voice rising. “And going very fast. Does this thing have brakes? Oh, no! I’m going to die!”
    Watching him bounce around and scream inside his bubble, Glinda tried not to smile. “You needn’t worry, Wizard,” she said. “It’s a magic wall! All good-hearted souls get to pass through.”
    Oz stopped screaming. Right. A magic wall. That let good souls through. Wait a minute—he wasn’t a good soul! He really was going to die! He began screaming again, waiting to be zapped with electricity or dropped out of the bubble.
    Closer and closer they came to the wall. Oz closed his eyes and braced himself. He waited and waited. Nothing happened. Finally, opening one eye, he looked around. He was on the other side! Behind him, the others passed safely through the wall, causing it to shimmer and sparkle. Oz let out a sigh of relief.
    In her own bubble, Glinda let out her own sigh of relief. She had been right. Oz was good-hearted. Now she just needed to figure out how to make him see that,