Yup, still working on the short stories in Shadows of the Emerald City. This morning's story was "Scarecrow's Sunrise" by Gef Fox. This is an origin story for the Scarecrow, and one that makes a little more sense, and is a lot more satisfying, than the "official" one in The Royal Book of Oz. It seems that the Wizard and the unnamed Good Witch of the North have foreseen what's about to happen to the Wicked Witch of the East and what Dorothy's arrival means, and so engineer events so that she can meet an ally along the way in the form of a living scarecrow. This is the story of how Mazy, a Munchkin farmer, was recruited to create him, and his reaction to his creation unexpectedly coming to life. For the longest time, I thought there was very little that actually contradicted the books, and it could be used as a totally unofficial origin story. But as it progressed, it became pretty clear that Fox based his version of Oz on The Movie, or possibly Wicked (the version of Oz as presented in the novel, not the musical). Oh, well. Only two more stories to go in this collection, so I may very well finish by the end of the month.
And I am kicking myself for not thinking of this "one short story on weekends" idea a lot sooner.
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