Folklore, legends, myths and fairy tales have followed childhood through the ages, for every healthy youngster has a wholesome and instinctive love for stories fantastic, mar- velous and maly unreal. The winged fairies of Grimm and Andersen have brought more happio childish hearts than all other humaions.
Yet the old time fairy tale, having served feions, may now be classed as "historical" in the childrens library; for the time has e for a series of newer "woales" in which the stereotyped genie, dwarf and fairy are elimiogether with all the horrible and blood-curdling is de- vised by their authors to point a fearsome moral to each tale.
Modern education includes morality; therefore the modern child seeks oertai in its woales and gladly dispenses with all disagreeable i.
Having this thought in mind, the story of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" was written solely to please children of today.
It aspires to being a modernized fairy tale, in which the won- derment and joy are retained and the heartaches and night- mares are left out.
L. Frank Baum Chicago, April, .
This book is dedicated to my good friend and rade My Wife L. F. B.