The Discovery of Oz's True Identity

The four travelers—Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion—returned to the Emerald City in triumph, having destroyed the Wicked Witch of the West. They expected the Great Oz to honor his promises at once, but the Wizard made them wait for days, sending no word. Growing vexed, the Scarecrow threatened to summon the Winged Monkeys, a prospect that so frightened Oz—who had once encountered them in the Land of the West—that he agreed to receive them at four minutes after nine the next morning.

The Confrontation in the Throne Room

Promptly at the appointed time, the four companions entered the Throne Room. To their astonishment, the room was empty. No great Head, no lovely Lady, no terrible Beast, no Ball of Fire—only a solemn, disembodied Voice that declared itself to be Oz, the Great and Terrible, and claimed to be invisible to common mortals. Dorothy stated their claim: the Wicked Witch was dead, melted by a bucket of water. The Voice trembled and asked for another day to think, but the Tin Woodman angrily refused, the Scarecrow insisted they would wait no longer, and Dorothy demanded that he keep his promises. The Lion, thinking to frighten the Wizard, gave a tremendous roar. Toto, startled, jumped away and tipped over a screen that stood in a corner. As it fell with a crash, the travelers saw, standing in the spot the screen had hidden, a little old man with a bald head and a wrinkled face, looking as surprised as they were.

The Revelation of the Humbug

The Tin Woodman raised his axe and rushed toward the little man, demanding to know who he was. Trembling, the little man replied, "I am Oz, the Great and Terrible. But don't strike me—please don't—and I'll do anything you want me to." The friends stared in shock. Dorothy had thought Oz was a great Head; the Scarecrow, a lovely Lady; the Tin Woodman, a terrible Beast; the Lion, a Ball of Fire. "No, you are all wrong," said the little man meekly. "I have been making believe." When Dorothy asked if he was not a great Wizard, he replied, "Not a bit of it, my dear; I'm just a common man." The Scarecrow, grieved, declared, "You're a humbug." The little man rubbed his hands together as if pleased and said, "Exactly so! I am a humbug."

Oz's Story and the Mechanics of Deception

Oz led them to a small chamber behind the Throne Room and showed them the apparatus of his deception. The great Head was made of many thicknesses of paper with a carefully painted face, hung from the ceiling by a wire; Oz stood behind a screen and pulled a thread to make the eyes move and the mouth open. He was a ventriloquist and could throw his voice wherever he wished. The lovely Lady was a dress and a mask; the terrible Beast was a lot of skins sewn together with slats to keep their sides out; the Ball of Fire was a ball of cotton that burned fiercely when oil was poured on it. Then Oz told his story. He was born in Omaha, not far from Kansas. He became a ventriloquist, then a balloonist. One day his balloon drifted over the Land of Oz, and the people, seeing him come from the clouds, thought he was a great Wizard. He let them believe it. He ordered them to build the Emerald City and the Palace, and to make the name fit better, he put green spectacles on all the people so that everything they saw looked green. He lived in deadly fear of the Witches, having no magical powers himself, and was overjoyed when Dorothy's house killed the Wicked Witch of the East. He admitted he could not keep his promises. Dorothy called him a very bad man, but he replied, "Oh, no, my dear; I'm really a very good man, but I'm a very bad Wizard, I must admit."

The Aftermath and the Bestowal of Gifts

Despite his confession, Oz did not leave his petitioners empty-handed. He told the Scarecrow that he did not need brains—he was learning every day, and experience brings knowledge—but the Scarecrow insisted, so Oz promised to stuff his head with brains the next morning. He told the Lion that he already had plenty of courage; true courage is facing danger when you are afraid, and that kind he had in plenty. But the Lion insisted on the sort that makes one forget he is afraid, and Oz promised to give him that. He told the Tin Woodman that he was wrong to want a heart, as it makes most people unhappy, but the Woodman declared he would bear all unhappiness without a murmur, and Oz agreed to give him one. For Dorothy, he could only promise to think about how to get her back to Kansas. He asked them to keep his secret, and they agreed, returning to their rooms in high spirits. The next day, Oz performed his magic: he filled the Scarecrow's head with a mixture of bran and pins and needles; he placed a silk heart stuffed with sawdust in the Tin Woodman's breast; and he gave the Lion a green liquid from a square green bottle, which the Lion drank. Left alone, Oz smiled to think of his success in giving them exactly what they thought they wanted. "How can I help being a humbug," he said, "when all these people make me do things that everybody knows can't be done?"