The Summoning of the Winged Monkeys

The Wicked Witch of the West had already sent her fiercest wolves, her wild crows, her stinging black bees, and even her own Winkie slaves against the strangers who dared to enter her country. Each attack had been defeated: the Tin Woodman had chopped the wolves to pieces, the Scarecrow had twisted the crows' necks, the bees had broken their stings against the tin man, and the Cowardly Lion's roar had sent the Winkies fleeing. Now, sitting in her castle, the Witch saw that all her plans had failed. She could not understand how these intruders had survived, but she was a powerful witch as well as a wicked one, and she soon made up her mind how to act. There was, in her cupboard, a Golden Cap, with a circle of diamonds and rubies running round it. This Golden Cap held a charm: whoever owned it could call three times upon the Winged Monkeys, who would obey any order they were given. But no person could command these strange creatures more than three times. Twice already the Wicked Witch had used the charm of the Cap. Once was when she had made the Winkies her slaves and set herself to rule over their country. The second time was when she had fought against the Great Oz himself and driven him out of the land of the West. Only once more could she use this Golden Cap, for which reason she did not like to do so until all her other powers were exhausted. Now, with her wolves, crows, and bees gone, and her slaves scared away, she saw there was only one way left to destroy Dorothy and her friends.

The Ritual of the Charm

The Wicked Witch took the Golden Cap from her cupboard and placed it upon her head. Then she stood upon her left foot and said slowly: "Ep-pe, pep-pe, kak-ke!" Next she stood upon her right foot and said: "Hil-lo, hol-lo, hel-lo!" After this she stood upon both feet and cried in a loud voice: "Ziz-zy, zuz-zy, zik!" The charm began to work immediately. The sky darkened, and a low rumbling sound was heard in the air. There was a rushing of many wings, a great chattering and laughing, and the sun came out of the dark sky to show the Wicked Witch surrounded by a crowd of monkeys, each with a pair of immense and powerful wings on his shoulders. One, much bigger than the others, seemed to be their leader. He flew close to the Witch and said, "You have called us for the third and last time. What do you command?"

The Witch's Command and the Monkeys' Attack

The Wicked Witch gave her order: "Go to the strangers who are within my land and destroy them all except the Lion. Bring that beast to me, for I have a mind to harness him like a horse, and make him work." The leader replied, "Your commands shall be obeyed." Then, with a great deal of chattering and noise, the Winged Monkeys flew away to the place where Dorothy and her friends were walking. The attack was swift and devastating. Some of the Monkeys seized the Tin Woodman and carried him through the air until they were over a country thickly covered with sharp rocks. There they dropped the poor Woodman, who fell a great distance to the rocks, where he lay so battered and dented that he could neither move nor groan. Others of the Monkeys caught the Scarecrow, and with their long fingers pulled all of the straw out of his clothes and head. They made his hat and boots and clothes into a small bundle and threw it into the top branches of a tall tree. The remaining Monkeys threw pieces of stout rope around the Lion and wound many coils about his body and head and legs, until he was unable to bite or scratch or struggle in any way. Then they lifted him up and flew away with him to the Witch's castle, where he was placed in a small yard with a high iron fence around it, so that he could not escape.

Dorothy's Protection and the Monkeys' Departure

But Dorothy they did not harm at all. She stood, with Toto in her arms, watching the sad fate of her comrades and thinking it would soon be her turn. The leader of the Winged Monkeys flew up to her, his long, hairy arms stretched out and his ugly face grinning terribly; but he saw the mark of the Good Witch's kiss upon her forehead and stopped short, motioning the others not to touch her. "We dare not harm this little girl," he said to them, "for she is protected by the Power of Good, and that is greater than the Power of Evil. All we can do is to carry her to the castle of the Wicked Witch and leave her there." So, carefully and gently, they lifted Dorothy in their arms and carried her swiftly through the air until they came to the castle, where they set her down upon the front doorstep. Then the leader said to the Witch: "We have obeyed you as far as we were able. The Tin Woodman and the Scarecrow are destroyed, and the Lion is tied up in your yard. The little girl we dare not harm, nor the dog she carries in her arms. Your power over our band is now ended, and you will never see us again." Then all the Winged Monkeys, with much laughing and chattering and noise, flew into the air and were soon out of sight.

Consequences and Aftermath

The Wicked Witch was both surprised and worried when she saw the mark on Dorothy's forehead, for she knew well that neither the Winged Monkeys nor she herself dared hurt the girl in any way. She looked down at Dorothy's feet, and seeing the Silver Shoes, began to tremble with fear, for she knew what a powerful charm belonged to them. At first the Witch was tempted to run away from Dorothy; but she happened to look into the child's eyes and saw how simple the soul behind them was, and that the little girl did not know of the wonderful power the Silver Shoes gave her. So the Wicked Witch laughed to herself, and thought, "I can still make her my slave, for she does not know how to use her power." She then commanded Dorothy to follow her through the castle to the kitchen, where she set the girl to work cleaning pots and sweeping floors. The Summoning of the Winged Monkeys thus achieved the Witch's immediate goal of separating the group and capturing the Lion, but it also placed Dorothy directly under the Witch's control in her own castle, setting the stage for the final confrontation that would lead to the Witch's destruction.