"No," said the Witch, her voice shaking as if she were about to cry.
Dorothy was quite surprised by the turn in events. She had never seen the Witch so docile, so dejected. Her voice softened. "Is there any way we can help you?" she asked kindly.
The Witch stared at Dorothy. Suddenly, tears began to roll down her cheeks. "No one has ever been kind to me before," she said. "Why are you?"
"Because we love you," answered the little girl. "We couldn't show our love to you before because you expressed so much hatred towards us that it made us fearful of you."
"But how can you love someone who hates you?"
"Do you still hate us?" asked Dorothy.
"I don't know," replied the Witch, uncertainly. "I've never known anything but Hate."
"Well," said Dorothy, "we've never known anything but Love. You see, when people are unkind towards us, we try to respond with understanding and sympathy. And although their attitude can be quite disturbing to us, we know that to return hatred back towards them would only intensify the situation. To return Hate with Hate wouldn't help the hateful person in the least. And it most certainly would not help us."
The Witch thought for a moment...."You know, I have never talked quietly like this before. Not even to my sisters. It gives me a good feeling inside. Now I am beginning to experience a strange feeling I've never felt before. I think it's a feeling of compassion, almost of love.
"This is very difficult for me to say, Dorothy. But I am very sorry for all the anguish I have caused you and your friends."