DOROTHY LIVED IN the midst of the great Kansas prairies, with Uncle Henry, who was a farmer, and Aunt Em, who was the farmer's wife. Their house was small, for the lumber to build it had to be carried by wagon many miles. There were four walls, a floor and a roof, which made one room; and this room contained a rusty looking cookstove, a cupboard for the dishes, a table, three or four chairs, and the beds. Uncle Henry and Aunt Em had a big bed in one corner, and Dorothy a little bed in another corner. There was no garret at all, and no cellar—except a small hole dug in the ground, called a cyclone cellar, where the family could go in case one of those great whirlwinds arose, mighty enough to crush any building in its path. It was reached by a trap door in the middle of the floor, from which a ladder led down into the small, dark hole.
When Dorothy stood in the doorway and looked around, she could see nothing but the great gray prairie on every side. Not a tree nor a house broke the broad sweep of flat country that reached to the edge of the sky in all directions. The sun had baked the plowed land into a gray mass, with little cracks running through it. Even the grass was not green, for the sun had burned the tops of the long blades until they were the same gray color to be seen everywhere. Once the house had been painted, but the sun blistered the paint and the rains washed it away, and now the house was as dull and gray as everything else.
When Aunt Em came there to live she was a young, pretty wife. The sun and wind had changed her, too. They had taken the sparkle from her eyes and left them a sober gray; they had taken the red from her cheeks and lips, and they were gray also. She was thin and gaunt, and never smiled now. When Dorothy, who was an orphan, first came to her, Aunt Em had been so startled by the child's laughter that she would scream and press her hand upon her heart whenever Dorothy's merry voice reached her ears; and she still looked at the little girl with wonder that she could find anything to laugh at.
Uncle Henry never laughed. He worked hard from morning till night and did not know what joy was. He was gray also, from his long beard to his rough boots, and he looked stern and solemn, and rarely spoke.
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, weenose. Toto played all day long, and Dorothy played with him, and loved him dearly.
Today, however, they were not playing. Uncle Henry sat upon the doorstep and looked anxiously at the sky, which was even grayer than usual. Dorothy stood in the door with Toto in her arms, and looked at the sky too. Aunt Em was washing the dishes.
From the far north they heard a low wail of the wind, and Uncle Henry and Dorothy could see where the long grass bowed in waves before the coming storm. There now came a sharp whistling in the air from the south, and as they turned their eyes that way they saw ripples in the grass coming from that direction also. Suddenly Uncle Henry stood up.
"There's a cyclone coming, Em," he called to his wife. "I'll go look after the stock." Then he ran toward the sheds where the cows and horses were kept. Aunt Em dropped her work and came to the door. One glance told her of the danger close at hand.
"Quick, Dorothy!" she screamed. "Run for the cellar!"
Toto jumped out of Dorothy's arms and hid under the bed, and the girl started to get him. Aunt Em, badly frightened, threw open the trap door in the floor and climbed down the ladder into the small, dark hole. Dorothy caught Toto at last and started to follow her aunt. When she was halfway across the room there came a great shriek from the wind, and the house shook so hard that she lost her footing and sat down suddenly upon the floor.
Then a strange thing happened.The house whirled around two or three times and rose slowly through the air. Dorothy felt as if she were going up in a balloon.
The north and south winds met where the house stood, and made it the exact center of the cyclone. In the middle of a cyclone the air is generally still, but the great pressure of the wind on every side of the house raised it up higher and higher, until it was at the very top of the cyclone; and there it remained and was carried miles and miles away as easily as you could carry a feather.
It was very dark, and the wind howled horribly around her, but Dorothy found she was riding quite easily. After the first few whirls around, and one other time when the house tipped badly, she felt as if she were being rocked gently, like a baby in a cradle.
Toto did not like it. He ran about the room, now here, now there, barking loudly; but Dorothy sat quite still on the floor and waited to see what would happen.
Once Toto got too near the open trap door, and fell in; and at first the little girl thought she had lost him. But soon she saw one of his ears sticking up through the hole, for the strong pressure of the air was keeping him up so that he could not
fall. She crept to the hole, caught Toto by the ear, and dragged him into the room again, afterward closing the trap door so that no more accidents could happen.
Hour after hour passed away, and slowly Dorothy got over her fright; but she felt quite lonely, and the wind shrieked so loudly all about her that she nearly became deaf. At first she had wondered if she would be dashed to pieces when the house fell again; but as the hours passed and nothing terrible happened, she stopped worrying and resolved to wait calmly and see what the future would bring. At last she crawled over the swaying floor to her bed, and lay down upon it; and Toto followed and lay down beside her.
In spite of the swaying of the house and the wailing of the wind, Dorothy soon closed her eyes and fell fast asleep.
第一章 龙卷风
有个小女孩名字叫多露茜，她是一个可怜的孤儿。她和她的叔叔亨利、婶婶艾姆在一起生活着，他们把房子建在了堪萨斯大草原的中部地区。多露茜叔叔的职业是农民，他们住的地方不大。因为建造房子需要的木材要由马车从遥远的地方运过来，房子是四面都是用木板墙围成的，地下是木板，上面也是木板房顶，屋里面放着一个生满了铁锈的火炉子，有一个用来装碗的柜子，有一张木桌，还有几把凳子和两张睡床。叔叔和婶婶每天都睡在墙角的那张稍大的床上，多露茜则睡在另一个屋角的那张小床上，他们的房子上面没有阁楼，下面也没有地下室，但是有一个小洞，在房屋中间，它是用来防旋风的，因为草原上若是刮起了龙卷风，总会吹倒所有的房屋，这样的话他们全家就可以藏到这个洞里，躲避风险。洞口的上边安了一个能够活动的小门，揭开这个门就能够沿着梯子下到这个漆黑的防风洞里。
多露茜站在自己的家门前向周围眺望，看见的只是一望无际的雾蒙蒙的大草原，周围的一切都与天相辉映，没有一棵树，更没有任何其他的房屋，阳光把地面晒得灰黑，以至于每一片都有狭细的裂缝，即使是草地也并非是绿油油的，原因很简单，太阳光把草尖也晒成了灰黑的颜色。因此，周围的一切看起来都是暗灰色的，多露茜住的房屋虽然曾经刷新过多次，但每一次风吹雨打后，粉刷的色彩褪掉了，房屋便也和周围的一切一样，都是灰濛濛的。
她的婶婶最初来到这里的时候，还很年轻，是个美丽的新嫁娘。经历了无数的风吹日晒后，似乎变成了另外一个人，她的眼睛不再炯炯有神了，有的只是那种忧伤的深灰色，脸庞和嘴唇湿润的红色也消失了，剩下的也是灰色，现在的她，消瘦苍老，精神忧郁，从来都不见她有高兴的时候，多露茜刚到她家的时候，婶婶常为她快乐的笑声而莫名其妙，每次艾姆听见她那快乐的笑声就总是一声尖叫，同时捂住自己的胸口，一直到现在，她竟然还会吃惊地望着这个小女孩，不知道有什么理由能够让她如此快乐。
她的叔叔亨利也是板着脸，每天他都从早一直忙到傍晚，根本不懂快乐是什么。他看上去也是灰不溜秋的，从他脸上的长胡子一直灰到脚底的靴子，他是一个严肃庄重的人，很难听到他说上一句话。
只有托托才会让多露茜快乐，才不会把她也变成这种灰色，托托不是灰不溜秋的，它是一只黑色的可爱的小狗。它身上的绒毛像丝绸一样地润滑，在它那令人发笑的小鼻子上边长着一双黑溜溜的小眼睛，多露茜非常喜欢它。每天和它在一起嬉闹玩耍。
可是他们今天没有在一起玩儿。她的叔叔在门槛上坐着，忧愁地望着灰濛濛的天，与往常相比，今天的天空显得特别灰暗，多露茜坐在房子里，怀里抱着小狗也望着天空发呆，婶婶在刷着碗筷。
他们听见了怒吼着的狂风从遥远的北方传过来。多露茜和他的叔叔同时看见了整个草原上的草被狂风吹得像掀起的巨浪，突然一声尖厉的怒吼声从南边的方向袭卷而来。他们同时向南边张望着，看见了那个方向的草原也开始摇晃起来。
她的叔叔亨利立刻站立起来。
“艾姆，有龙卷风！”他叫着，“我去看牲口。”说完便跑向了那个养着马和牛的棚子。婶婶艾姆丢下碗筷，跑到门口一看，就知道灾难降临了。
“多露茜！快点！”她大声叫道“快躲到地洞里边去！”
托托挣脱出多露茜的怀抱，迅速地钻到了床底下，多露茜也跟在它后面，艾姆害怕极了，急忙掀开了那扇活动的木板门，钻到了那个漆黑的洞里边。多露茜抓住托托之后才朝地洞跑去，还没来得及跑到那里，就听见风一声尖厉的怒吼，整个房子颤抖起来，她无法保持平衡，一下子摔在了那里。
然后发生了一件令人意想不到的事。
房子在地上转了几圈，然后缓缓地飞向了天空，多露茜感觉自己就像坐上了气球在天空中飞翔。
从北边吹来的风与从南边吹来的风在草原的中部聚合了。他们的房子无疑就变成了狂啸龙卷风的中心地带，在通常情况下，在重心部位，空气是不流动的，但是受来自四面八方的狂风的巨大压力的影响房子越飞越高，一直到达龙卷风的风顶，它就在最后的高度上静止了，被风刮到一个特别遥远的地方，犹如飘落一根细小的羽毛，不费吹灰之力。
天昏地暗，狂风依旧怒吼着，叫人惊魂动魄，可是多露茜感觉就像坐在马背上一样舒服极了。房子又旋转了几圈，然后又使劲地倾倒了一下，她感觉像又重新回到了摇车里，任凭它温柔地摇摆着。
可是托托却讨厌极了，它在房子里奔来跑去，拼命地狂叫着，多露茜安静地在那坐着，她想知道还会有什么事情发生。
托托四处乱蹿，跑到了已经掀开的那扇活板门附近，突然间掉了进去，多露茜想，托托这回可没救了，可是只过了一小会儿，多露茜看到了托托有一只耳朵从地洞里伸出来，巨大的空气压力使它没能跌进去。于是她爬到了地洞门口，伸手揪住了托托伸在外面的耳朵，一下子把它拉了回来，然后她重新把活板门关好，以防再发生这样的事情。
时间就这样不停地流逝着，多露茜慢慢地从惊愕中镇静下来，她忽然感觉自己很寂寞，她的耳朵差不多就要被四周北风的怒吼声震得什么都听不见了。开始的时候她还在想，如果房子再一次被狂风吹落到地上的话，自己可能会摔得粉身碎骨了，可是任凭时间一分一秒地过去，并没有再发生任何令人担惊受怕的事情。于是多露茜就不再这样害怕了，决心镇定下来，勇敢地迎接着任何可能发生的事情。她从依旧摇摆着的木地板上爬起来，摸索到自己的小床边，并躺了上去，托托在后面跟着，也趴在了她的身旁。
虽然房子依然在不停地摇摆着，狂风依然在不停地怒吼着，但是多露茜闭上双眼，只一会功夫就进入了梦乡。