The Latest Oz Short Story

Yes, another tale from I Should Have Stayed in Oz. This week it was "East of the Sun, West of the Moon" by Tracy S. Morris, and it's a crossover story! Dorothy Gayle [sic] is all grown up and a schoolteacher, sending as much money as she can to Aunt Em and Uncle Henry. She lives in a boarding house with three other teachers who are a lot like her: Alice Liddell, Wendy Darling, and Susan Pevensie! Needless to say, all four of these young women all want to go back to their respective fairylands. So when a boy dressed in green, who claims to have had battles with pirates and adventures with Indians, comes to town, everyone is mystified when he tries to take Susan back with him, and not Wendy! I liked this story and its set-up. All four teachers have their own personalities and foibles, with Dorothy (and, to a lesser extant, Alice) being the sensible ones who play peacemaker. There is a great little twist at the end, but unfortunately it suffers from an abrupt ending. This story is really just a prelude to something bigger and more epic that, alas, we're not likely to see. Still, it was fun watching these characters interact in this way. (Mention is also made of two more teachers at the school, Miss Banks and Miss Longstocking! There must be an interesting story about this school, then, as well!)