Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz · Chapter
The Braided Man of Pyramid Mountain explained
The travelers ascend the spiral stairs inside Pyramid Mountain, encountering a strange old man with braided hair and beard who lives in a cave halfway up.
What happens
The travelers ascend the spiral stairs inside Pyramid Mountain, encountering a strange old man with braided hair and beard who lives in a cave halfway up. He claims to be a manufacturer of flutters and rustles, and trades his goods for a blue ribbon. His bizarre tale of falling through his own Adjustable Posthole suggests he may be mad, but the group politely continues their journey.
Themes in this chapter
Hospitality and Generosity
Dorothy gives the Braided Man a blue ribbon without expecting anything in return, and he insists on giving them his products as gifts.
Adventure and Exploration
The group climbs the perilous spiral stairs of Pyramid Mountain, encountering strange sights like the Cloud Fairies and the black sea of flames.
Characters to notice
- Dorothy Gale
Shows compassion by giving the Braided Man a blue ribbon for his braids, accepting a box of rustles in return.
- Jim the Cab-Horse
Struggles to pull the buggy up the long spiral stairs, panting and needing frequent rests.
- Zeb
Doubts Jim's ability to climb the stairs, and later expresses awe at the Cloud Fairies and the strange birds outside the cavern.
- The Wizard
Leads the group up the stairs, uses lanterns in the darkness, and silently indicates he thinks the Braided Man is crazy.
- The Braided Man
A lonely inventor living in a cave halfway up the mountain, who manufactures flutters and rustles and trades them for a blue ribbon.
Key passages
“try to see to the bottom, I lost my balance and tumbled in. Unfortunately, the hole led directly into the vast space you see outside this mountain; but I managed to catch a point of rock that projected from this cavern, and so saved myself from tumbling headlong into the black waves beneath, where the tongues of flame that dart out would certainly have consumed me. Here, then, I made my home; and although it is a lonely place I amuse myself making rustles and flutters, and so get along very nicely.”
The Braided Man explains that he fell into his own Adjustable Posthole, which led to the cavern, and he barely escaped falling into the fiery sea below. He now lives there, passing the time by manufacturing rustles and flutters.
The Braided Man's absurd origin story, which the Wizard silently dismisses as madness.