East of the Yellow Brick

But the little old woman walked up to Dorothy

“You are welcome, most noble Sorceress, to the land of the Munchkins. We are so grateful to you for having killed the Wicked Witch of the East, and for setting our people free from bondage.”

Dorothy listened to this speech with wonder.

What could the little woman possibly mean by calling her a sorceress, and saying she had killed the Wicked Witch of the East?

Dorothy was an innocent, harmless little girl, who had been carried by a cyclone many miles from home; and she had never killed anything in all her life.

But the little woman evidently expected her to answer; so Dorothy said, with hesitation, “You are very kind, but there must be some mistake. I have not killed anything.”

L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz