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Why is Dorothy unable to reach the storm cellar before the cyclone carries away her house?

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Illustration by W.W. Denslow showing Dorothy comforting the Cowardly Lion on a yellow brick road, with Toto, the Tin Woodsman, and the Scarecrow nearby in a forest. — The Wonderful Wizard of Oz An illustrated page by W.W. Denslow in L. Frank Baum's *The Wonderful Wizard of Oz*.

In L. Frank Baum’s novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Dorothy is unable to reach the storm cellar because she is delayed while trying to catch her dog, Toto. By the time she successfully secures him, the cyclone has already struck, making it impossible for her to reach the safety of the cellar before the house is carried away.1