第1章 龙卷风
多萝西和自己的农夫叔叔亨利以及婶婶埃姆一起居住在堪萨斯州的草原上。他们的小房子有四面墙、一层地板和一个屋顶。仅有的地下室是在地板上挖的一个小洞，被称为地下避风室。
多萝西站在门内望向外面，四周只有一片灰色的草原，没有任何树木和其他房子。大地被太阳炙烤着，产生了小的裂缝，而草都被烤焦了。
在被送到叔叔婶婶这里前，多萝西是个孤儿。亨利叔叔和埃姆婶婶不苟言笑，而托托能让多萝西笑起来，它是一只小黑狗，有着光滑的毛和闪闪发亮的眼睛。他们整天黏在一起玩，她很爱它。
然而今天，他们并没有玩耍。亨利叔叔坐在门前的台阶上望着天空，天色要比往常更加灰暗。多萝西抱着托托站在门内，也望着天空。埃姆婶婶在洗碗。
他们听到从遥远的北方传来一阵风低低的呜咽声。亨利叔叔和多萝西看到长长的草在暴风来临之前成片地弯下了腰。一阵尖锐的呼啸声从南边传来，他们随之望去，看到草浪从那个方向传过来了。
“龙卷风来了，埃姆！”亨利叔叔突然喊道。他冲向牛群和马群。
埃姆婶婶叫道：“快点，多萝西！到地下室去！”
托托从多萝西的怀抱里跳出来，跑到了床下。埃姆婶婶拉开地板门爬进黑黑的洞里。多萝西抓起托托跟在她后面。
突然，这阵风发出一声巨大的尖叫，房子跟着摇晃起来，把多萝西震倒在地板上。
接着，发生了一件奇怪的事。
房子开始旋转起来，升到空中并跳进了龙卷风的正中心。它把房子带得越来越高，一直到龙卷风的上面，带到了几英里之外。
四周很黑，风又可怕地号叫着。随着房子在龙卷风中稳定下来，多萝西感觉自己好似在被轻柔地摇晃着。托托在房间里四处奔跑，汪汪地叫着。多萝西等着看会发生什么。
几小时过去了。多萝西开始感到孤单，风的咆哮声太大，刺痛了她的耳朵。又过了几个小时，她爬到自己的床上躺了下来。托托在她旁边也卧了下来。
在房子的摇晃和风的号叫中，多萝西闭上眼睛睡着了。
CHAPTER 1 The Cyclone
Dorothy lived in the middle of the Kansas prairies with Uncle Henry, a farmer, and Aunt Em, his wife. They had a small house with four walls, a floor, and a roof. The only cellar was a small hole dug in the ground, called a cyclone cellar.
When Dorothy stood in the door and looked outside, she saw only the gray prairie all around. There weren’t any trees or other houses. The land was baked by the sun and had little cracks through it and the grass was burned.
Dorothy was an orphan when she came to live with Aunt Em and Uncle Henry, who didn’t laugh. It was Toto, a little black dog with silky hair and twinkling eyes, who made Dorothy laugh. The two played all day together and she loved him.
Today, however, they were not playing. Uncle Henry sat upon the doorstep and looked at the sky, which was even grayer than usual. Dorothy stood in the door with Toto in her arms and looked at the sky, too. Aunt Em was washing the dishes.
From the far north they heard a low wail of the wind. Uncle Henry and Dorothy could see where the long grass bowed in waves before the coming storm. There now came a sharp whistling from the south, and as they turned their eyes that way they saw ripples in the grass coming from that direction.
“There’s a cyclone coming, Em!” Uncle Henry suddenly shouted. He ran off toward the cows and horses.
Aunt Em shouted, “Quick, Dorothy! Run for the cellar!”
Toto jumped out of Dorothy’s arms and ran under the bed. Aunt Em threw open the trapdoor in the floor and climbed into the dark hole. Dorothy grabbed Toto and ran after her.
Suddenly a great shriek came from the wind and the house shook, throwing Dorothy to the floor.
Then, a strange thing happened.
The house whirled and rose in the air into the exact center of the cyclone. It took the house higher and higher until it was at the top and carried the house miles away.
It was dark and the wind howled horribly. As the house settled in the tornado, Dorothy felt as if she were being rocked gently. Toto ran around the room and barked. Dorothy waited to see what would happen.
Hours passed. Dorothy felt lonely and the wind was so loud it hurt her ears. After hours more, she crawled to her bed and lay down. Toto lay down beside her.
As the house swayed and the wind howled, Dorothy closed her eyes and fell asleep.