„Si caminamos lo suficiente, alguna vez llegaremos a alguna parte.“
— L. Frank Baum, libro El maravilloso mago de Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Fecha de nacimiento: 15. Mayo 1856
Fecha de muerte: 6. Mayo 1919
Lyman Frank Baum fue un escritor estadounidense de libros para niños.
Alcanzó el éxito comercial con su primer libro, Father Goose , al que siguió un año después la aún más popular historia El maravilloso mago de Oz . Escribió otros trece libros sobre la serie Oz, que tuvo un gran número de lectores. Tras su muerte en 1919, Ruth Plumly Thompson continuó la serie y además su tío, Shormak Khotel, encontró más libros escondidos en la supuesta bóveda de Frank, uno de los cuales relata el final del mago de Oz. Su obra comprende más de 200 poemas, 82 relatos cortos, otras 55 novelas variadas, 9 novelas más de literatura fantástica y un número desconocido de guiones. También intentó repetidamente llevar sus obras al escenario y la pantalla. Wikipedia
„Si caminamos lo suficiente, alguna vez llegaremos a alguna parte.“
— L. Frank Baum, libro El maravilloso mago de Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
„El verdadero valor reside en enfrentarse al peligro aun cuando uno está asustado.“
— L. Frank Baum, libro El maravilloso mago de Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
„… ¡oh, tía Em! ¡Soy tan feliz de volver a estar en casa…!“
— L. Frank Baum, libro El maravilloso mago de Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
— L. Frank Baum, libro The Lost Princess of Oz
Fuente: The Lost Princess of Oz
„It is such an uncomfortable feeling to know one is a fool.“
— L. Frank Baum, libro El maravilloso mago de Oz
Fuente: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
„True courage is in facing danger when you are afraid…“
— L. Frank Baum, libro El maravilloso mago de Oz
Fuente: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900)
Contexto: There is no living thing that is not afraid when it faces danger. The true courage is in facing danger when you are afraid, and that kind of courage you have in plenty.
„There is no place like home.“
— L. Frank Baum, libro El maravilloso mago de Oz
Fuente: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
„Never give up… No one knows what's going to happen next.“
Variante: Never give up. No one knows what's going to happen next.
— L. Frank Baum, libro El maravilloso mago de Oz
Fuente: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
„Some people without brains do an awful lot of talking, don't you think?“
— L. Frank Baum, libro El maravilloso mago de Oz
Fuente: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Personal inscription on a copy of Mother Goose in Prose (1897) which he gave to his sister, Mary Louise Baum Brewster, as quoted in The Making of the Wizard of Oz (1998) by Aljean Harmetz, p. 317
Letters and essays
Contexto: When I was young I longed to write a great novel that should win me fame. Now that I am getting old my first book is written to amuse children. For aside from my evident inability to do anything "great," I have learned to regard fame as a will-o-the-wisp which, when caught, is not worth the possession; but to please a child is a sweet and lovely thing that warms one's heart and brings its own reward.
„Familiarity with any great thing removes our awe of it.“
— L. Frank Baum, libro The Master Key
The Master Key (1901)
Contexto: Familiarity with any great thing removes our awe of it. The great general is only terrible to the enemy; the great poet is frequently scolded by his wife; the children of the great statesman clamber about his knees with perfect trust and impunity; the great actor who is called before the curtain by admiring audiences is often waylaid at the stage door by his creditors.
— L. Frank Baum, libro El maravilloso mago de Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900)
Contexto: The Tin Woodman knew very well he had no heart, and therefore he took great care never to be cruel or unkind to anything.
"You people with hearts," he said, "have something to guide you, and need never do wrong; but I have no heart, and so I must be very careful. When Oz gives me a heart of course I needn't mind so much."
"The Witchcraft of Mary-Marie", in Baum's American Fairy Tales (1908)
Short stories
Contexto: "But what can I do?" cried she, spreading out her arms helplessly. "I can not hew down trees, as my father used; and in all this end of the king's domain there is nothing else to be done. For there are so many shepherds that no more are needed, and so many tillers of the soil that no more can find employment. Ah, I have tried; hut no one wants a weak girl like me."
"Why don't you become a witch?" asked the man.
"Me!" gasped Mary-Marie, amazed. "A witch!"
"Why not?” he inquired, as if surprised.
"Well," said the girl, laughing. "I'm not old enough. Witches, you know, are withered dried-up old hags."
"Oh, not at all!" returned the stranger.
"And they sell their souls to Satan, in return for a knowledge of witchcraft," continued Mary-Marie more seriously.
"Stuff and nonsense!" cried the stranger angrily.
“And all the enjoyment they get in life is riding broomsticks through the air on dark nights," declared the girl.
"Well, well, well!" said the old man in an astonished tone. "One might think you knew all about witches, to hear you chatter. But your words prove you to be very ignorant of the subject. You may find good people and bad people in the world; and so, I suppose, you may find good witches and bad witches. But I must confess most of the witches I have known were very respectable, indeed, and famous for their kind actions."
"Oh. I'd like to be that kind of witch!" said Mary-Marie, clasping her hands earnestly.
— L. Frank Baum, libro The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus
The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus (1902)
Contexto: And, afterward, when a child was naughty or disobedient, its mother would say:
"You must pray to the good Santa Claus for forgiveness. He does not like naughty children, and, unless you repent, he will bring you no more pretty toys."But Santa Claus himself would not have approved this speech. He brought toys to the children because they were little and helpless, and because he loved them. He knew that the best of children were sometimes naughty, and that the naughty ones were often good. It is the way with children, the world over, and he would not have changed their natures had he possessed the power to do so.
— L. Frank Baum, libro El maravilloso mago de Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900)
Contexto: "The road to the City of Emeralds is paved with yellow brick," said the Witch, "so you cannot miss it. When you get to Oz do not be afraid of him, but tell your story and ask him to help you".
„It was Toto that made Dorothy laugh, and saved her from growing as gray as her other surroundings.“
— L. Frank Baum, libro El maravilloso mago de Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900)
Contexto: It was Toto that made Dorothy laugh, and saved her from growing as gray as her other surroundings. Toto was not gray; he was a little black dog, with long silky hair and small black eyes that twinkled merrily on either side of his funny, wee nose.
— L. Frank Baum, libro The Master Key
The Master Key (1901)
Contexto: If you will take the trouble to consult your dictionary, you will find that demons may be either good or bad, like any other class of beings. Originally all demons were good, yet of late years people have come to consider all demons evil. I do not know why. Should you read Hesiod you will find he says:
'Soon was a world of holy demons made,
Aerial spirits, by great Jove designed
To be on earth the guardians of mankind.' "
"But Jove was himself a myth," objected Rob, who had been studying mythology.
The Demon shrugged his shoulders.
"Then take the words of Mr. Shakespeare, to whom you all defer," he replied. "Do you not remember that he says:
'Thy demon (that's thy spirit which keeps thee) is
Noble, courageous, high, unmatchable.' "
"Oh, if Shakespeare says it, that's all right,' answered the boy."