Dorothy lived in the midst of the great Kansas prairies, withUncle Henry, who was a farmer, and Aunt Em, who was the farmer'swife. Their house was small, for the lumber to build it had to becarried by wagon many miles. There were four walls, a floor and aroof, which made one room; and this room contained a rusty lookingcookstove, a cupboard for the dishes, a table, three or fourchairs, and the beds. Uncle Henry and Aunt Em had a big bed inone corner, and Dorothy a little bed in another corner. There wasno garret at all, and no cellar--except a small hole dug in theground, called a cyclone cellar, where the family could go in caseone of those great whirlwinds arose, mighty enough to crush anybuilding in its path. It was reached by a trap door in the middleof the floor, from which a ladder led down into the small, dark hole.

When Dorothy stood in the doorway and looked around, she couldsee nothing but the great gray prairie on every side. Not a treenor a house broke the broad sweep of flat country that reached tothe edge of the sky in all directions. The sun had baked theplowed land into a gray mass, with little cracks running through it.Even the grass was not green, for the sun had burned the tops ofthe long blades until they were the same gray color to be seeneverywhere. Once the house had been painted, but the sunblistered the paint and the rains washed it away, and now thehouse 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 sparklefrom her eyes and left them a sober gray; they had taken the redfrom her cheeks and lips, and they were gray also. She was thinand gaunt, and never smiled now. When Dorothy, who was an orphan,first came to her, Aunt Em had been so startled by the child'slaughter that she would scream and press her hand upon her heartwhenever Dorothy's merry voice reached her ears; and she stilllooked at the little girl with wonder that she could find anythingto laugh at.

Uncle Henry never laughed. He worked hard from morning tillnight and did not know what joy was. He was gray also, from hislong beard to his rough boots, and he looked stern and solemn,and rarely spoke.

It was Toto that made Dorothy laugh, and saved her fromgrowing as gray as her other surroundings. Toto was not gray; hewas a little black dog, with long silky hair and small black eyesthat twinkled merrily on either side of his funny, wee nose. Totoplayed all day long, and Dorothy played with him, and loved him dearly.

Today, however, they were not playing. Uncle Henry sat uponthe doorstep and looked anxiously at the sky, which was evengrayer than usual. Dorothy stood in the door with Toto in herarms, and looked at the sky too. Aunt Em was washing the dishes.

From the far north they heard a low wail of the wind, andUncle Henry and Dorothy could see where the long grass bowed inwaves before the coming storm. There now came a sharp whistlingin the air from the south, and as they turned their eyes that waythey 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'llgo look after the stock." Then he ran toward the sheds where thecows and horses were kept.

Aunt Em dropped her work and came to the door. One glancetold 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, andthe girl started to get him. Aunt Em, badly frightened, threwopen the trap door in the floor and climbed down the ladder intothe small, dark hole. Dorothy caught Toto at last and started tofollow her aunt. When she was halfway across the room there camea great shriek from the wind, and the house shook so hard that shelost her footing and sat down suddenly upon the floor.

Then a strange thing happened.

The house whirled around two or three times and rose slowlythrough the air. Dorothy felt as if she were going up in a balloon.

The north and south winds met where the house stood, and madeit the exact center of the cyclone. In the middle of a cyclonethe air is generally still, but the great pressure of the wind onevery side of the house raised it up higher and higher, until itwas at the very top of the cyclone; and there it remained and wascarried 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 firstfew 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, nowthere, barking loudly; but Dorothy sat quite still on the floorand waited to see what would happen.

Once Toto got too near the open trap door, and fell in; and atfirst the little girl thought she had lost him. But soon she sawone of his ears sticking up through the hole, for the strongpressure 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 himinto the room again, afterward closing the trap door so that nomore accidents could happen.

Hour after hour passed away, and slowly Dorothy got over herfright; but she felt quite lonely, and the wind shrieked so loudlyall about her that she nearly became deaf. At first she hadwondered if she would be dashed to pieces when the house fell again;but as the hours passed and nothing terrible happened, she stoppedworrying 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 thewind, Dorothy soon closed her eyes and fell fast asleep.