The Wizard Of Oz Qartulad 〈VALIDATED ◎〉

In a small, stone-walled village high in the Caucasus Mountains, a girl named lived with her grandparents. She was known for her endless questions and her habit of staring at the swirling clouds, dreaming of the bustling streets of Tbilisi.

When they reached the , the Wizard was not a man, but an ancient, crumbling ნუცა (icon) of Saint George — hollow inside. A hidden projector played a recording of a old მესტვირე (troubadour) singing polyphonic songs.

The snow wind came again — but this time, it smelled of fresh პური (bread) and ხინკალი (dumplings). She opened her eyes on her grandmother’s პატიო (porch), the water jug still in her hand, the sun setting over the Caucasus.

Then, a — not golden, but russet as the autumn forests of Borjomi — paced nervously. "I have no courage," he whimpered. "I ran from a კაკაბი (mountain hen) this morning." The Wizard Of Oz Qartulad

One afternoon, a sudden თოვლიანი ქარი (snowy wind) roared down from Mount Kazbek. The air turned to white crystal. Tako, who had been fetching water from the spring, grabbed her family’s old felt cloak. But the wind was stronger than any დევი (demon) from her grandmother’s stories. It scooped her up, spun her past the frozen waterfalls, and dropped her— thump —into a valley where the grass was the deep green of a Georgian summer and the sky was the blue of ancient cloisonné enamel.

So they walked the — except here, it was a path of golden თაფლი (honeycomb), sticky and sweet, winding through forests of ancient oaks draped in საჭერი (grapevines).

"You don't need me," the recording buzzed. "The Tarragon Scarecrow has recited every mountain pass since we left. The Tin Soldier wept rust when Tako fell. And the Lion—you charged a witch. Courage is not the absence of fear; it is fear that said 'I will go anyway.'" In a small, stone-walled village high in the

But the Lion nudged her. "Ozi is inside you, Tako. So is Tbilisi."

She threw a second bolt. The Lion, shaking, leaped in front of everyone — not with a roar, but with a terrified, high-pitched "მეშველეთ!" (Help me!). The bolt bounced off his russet mane and hit the Witch’s own foot. She shrieked, melted into a puddle of bitter ჟღაპი (vinegar), and was gone.

The Witch cackled. "I'll turn you into ღვინო (wine) and drink you!" A hidden projector played a recording of a

Next, a — no, a Tin Soldier , his body hammered from old ქვევრი (wine jar) copper. He stood frozen mid-step. "I have no heart," he clanked. "When the village children sing 'Shen Khar Venakhi,' I feel nothing."

Before her stood a council of strange, kind beings. First, a stuffed not with straw, but with dried ტარხუნა (tarragon leaves), his burlap head sagging sadly. "I have no mind," he whispered. "I cannot remember the recipe for შქმერული cheese."

The Wizard then revealed the truth: Tako’s felt cloak was not a cloak. It was a საფრე — a flying cloak. She had arrived by wind, and she could return by wind.

(ოზის ჯადოქარი – ქართულად)