"They don't look any different," said the Lion.
"Pick one up," said the Witch, "and sit on it, like this." The Witch picked one of the broomsticks up herself and sat astride it with the broomstick pointed upwards. "All of you do the same," she said. "Now, we'd better have a little flying lesson before we begin. Everyone ready? Handles pointed up. And away we go...."
What an amazing sight it was! The Tin Woodman narrowly missed crashing into the Scarecrow. The Lion barely missed the Witch's head with his dangling feet, but slightly brushed his lady friend who didn"t mind a bit. However, the Scarecrow's broomhandle somehow got pointed downwards, and he headed very fast for the ground.
"Up! Up!" shouted the Witch. He managed to turn upwards just in time.
Soon everyone was doing beautifully, swooping down on each other and veering away just in time to avoid a collision.
"Wheee!" squealed the Lioness. "This is fun!"
Everyone was having such a good time that they forgot about continuing their journey.
"All right, everyone," said the Witch. "I can see you are all accomplished flyers now. I believe we should be on our way."
"Absolutely," said Dorothy, who was enjoying herself as much as anyone.
"All right. Here we go." Up, up, and away they went, high into the sky.