The Real Villain of Oz

This is a writing exercise we did in Mr. Greene's second block Creative Writing
class. The last line had to be, "The man had a laugh like dry corn
husks." Tell me what you think. :)

"Follow, follow, follow, follow, follow the yellow brick road!"
Dorothy sang quietly to herself. "Oz seems like such a nice
place." She thought as she skipped.
"Woof, woof!" Toto's high-pitched bark broke through her pleasant
thoughts. "What is it, Toto?" She said, scanning the surrounding
forest. Something metallic caught her eye in the midday sun. "Squeak...
squeak..." Dorothy felt fear drop into her stomach like a rock. What could
this robotic creature be?
"Yip, yip!" Toto persisted, nudging a can toward her. She picked it
up and read the label."Oil..." Looking hesitantly from her dog to the
creature, she decided to pour some on the metal beast and hope for the best.
She trusted Toto, he was pretty smart for such a little dog.
"Aaah!" The beast sighed, stretching his arms over his head.
"Thank you! I really appreciate it, but we have got to get out of here,
and I mean pronto. I'd love to explain, but there's really no time. I was
trying to warn you earlier." "Warn me about what?" The young
girl's eyes were wide ovals set into her freckled face. "Is it that Wicked
Witch I've heard so much about?" She asked. "No." The Tin Man
said. "Much worse. Come on, we need to leave!" He said, grabbing her
wrist and starting to run down the road.
Suddenly, they stopped dead in their tracks. Standing before them was a tall,
lanky man in baggy overalls. Hay littered the road around him and poked through
his clothes.The man lifted his sagging head and adjusted his hat, revealing his
cold, black eyes. Dorothy glanced nervously at the Tin Man, who was breathing
heavy. Why was he so afraid of someone who appeared to be made of straw?
Dorothy guessed she would soon find out.
An evil smile creased his cloth face. The thin man had a laugh like dry corn
husks.