Introduction

　Folklore, legends, myths and fairy tales have followed childhood through the ages, for every healthy youngster has a wholesome¹ and instinctive² love for stories fantastic, marvelous and manifestly unreal. The winged fairies of Grimm and Andersen have brought more happiness to childish hearts than all other human creations.

　Yet the old time fairy tale, having served for generations, may now be classed as "historical" in the children's library; for the time has come for a series of newer "wonder tales" in which the stereotyped³ genie⁴, dwarf⁵ and fairy are eliminated,

together with all the horrible and blood-curdling incidents devised by their authors to point a fearsome moral to each tale. Modern education includes morality; therefore the modern child seeks only entertainment in its wonder tales and gladly dispenses⁶ with all disagreeable incident.

　Having this thought in mind, the story of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" was written solely⁷ to please children of today. It aspires⁸ to being a modernized⁹ fairy tale, in which the wonderment and joy are retained and the heartaches and nightmares are left out.

L. Frank Baum

Chicago, April, 1900.

　“绿野仙踪”是美国著名作家弗兰克·鲍姆的代表作。1970年曾经被列为二十世纪世界十五大畅销书之一，它已经被翻译为多种语言。“绿野仙踪”又翻译为“绿野寻仙记”它讲述的是小女孩多露茜的历险故事，多露茜聪明、善良、勇敢，她被龙卷风吹到了另一个地方，在那里，她结识了狮子、稻草人和铁皮人等小伙伴，他们都有自己的优点和缺点，在历险的过程中&多露茜帮助他们改掉了自己的缺点。多露茜的优点在于她的善良和勇敢，她不畏惧强暴，热心地帮助别人，这个故事跌宕起伏，曲折动人，难怪这本书成为各国儿童最喜欢的现代童话故事之一，足以与安徒生童话和格林童话媲美。

　弗兰克·鲍姆曾经在美国南达科它州阿伯丁市和伊利诺州芝加哥市担任报社的编辑，他因为这本书而一举成名。他的第一部儿童读物是“鹅老爹”，在“绿野仙踪”出版后，他又创作了十三部续集，其中“奥芝仙境”是这些续集中的佳作。本书收录了他的“绿野仙踪”“奥芝仙境”两部作品。他的主要作品还有“圣诞老人历险记”“天岛”等。

一九九九年三月

1 wholesome   

adj.适合；卫生的；有益健康的；显示身心健康的

参考例句：

• In actual fact the things I like doing are mostly wholesome.实际上我喜欢做的事大都是有助于增进身体健康的。
• It is not wholesome to eat without washing your hands.不洗手吃饭是不卫生的。

2 instinctive   

adj.(出于)本能的；直觉的；(出于)天性的

参考例句：

• He tried to conceal his instinctive revulsion at the idea.他试图饰盖自己对这一想法本能的厌恶。
• Animals have an instinctive fear of fire.动物本能地怕火。

3 stereotyped   

adj.(指形象、思想、人物等)模式化的

参考例句：

• There is a sameness about all these tales. They're so stereotyped -- all about talented scholars and lovely ladies. 这些书就是一套子，左不过是些才子佳人，最没趣儿。
• He is the stereotyped monster of the horror films and the adventure books, and an obvious (though not perhaps strictly scientific) link with our ancestral past. 它们是恐怖电影和惊险小说中的老一套的怪物，并且与我们的祖先有着明显的（虽然可能没有科学的）联系。

4 genie   

n.妖怪，神怪

参考例句：

• Now the genie of his darkest and weakest side was speaking.他心灵中最阴暗最软弱的部分有一个精灵在说话。
• He had to turn to the Genie of the Ring for help.他不得不向戒指神求助。

5 dwarf   

n.矮子，侏儒，矮小的动植物；vt.使…矮小

参考例句：

• The dwarf's long arms were not proportional to his height.那侏儒的长臂与他的身高不成比例。
• The dwarf shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. 矮子耸耸肩膀，摇摇头。

6 dispenses   

v.分配，分与；分配( dispense的第三人称单数 )；施与；配（药）

参考例句：

• The machine dispenses a range of drinks and snacks. 这台机器发售各种饮料和小吃。
• This machine dispenses coffee. 这台机器发售咖啡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。

8 aspires   

v.渴望，追求( aspire的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The fame to which he aspires was beyond his reach. 他追求的名誉乃是他所不能及的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• An old steed in the stable still aspires to gallop a thousand li. 老骥伏枥，志在千里。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 modernized   

使现代化，使适应现代需要( modernize的过去式和过去分词 )； 现代化，使用现代方法

参考例句：

• By 1985 the entire railway network will have been modernized. 等到1985年整个铁路网就实现现代化了。
• He set about rebuilding France, and made it into a brilliant-looking modernized imperialism. 他试图重建法国，使它成为一项表面华丽的现代化帝业。