They soon met their first foe: the . She was a bony woman with hair of black wool and fingernails like ხაჭაპური crusts. She threw a thunderbolt that turned the road into მჭადი (cornbread mush). The Tin Soldier clanked forward, blocking the blow with his chest. "I felt that," he whispered, surprised.
A small wooden sign, carved in მხედრული script, read: (Ozi).
The snow wind came again — but this time, it smelled of fresh პური (bread) and ხინკალი (dumplings). She opened her eyes on her grandmother’s პატიო (porch), the water jug still in her hand, the sun setting over the Caucasus.
In a small, stone-walled village high in the Caucasus Mountains, a girl named lived with her grandparents. She was known for her endless questions and her habit of staring at the swirling clouds, dreaming of the bustling streets of Tbilisi. The Wizard Of Oz Qartulad
Then, a — not golden, but russet as the autumn forests of Borjomi — paced nervously. "I have no courage," he whimpered. "I ran from a კაკაბი (mountain hen) this morning."
When they reached the , the Wizard was not a man, but an ancient, crumbling ნუცა (icon) of Saint George — hollow inside. A hidden projector played a recording of a old მესტვირე (troubadour) singing polyphonic songs.
One afternoon, a sudden თოვლიანი ქარი (snowy wind) roared down from Mount Kazbek. The air turned to white crystal. Tako, who had been fetching water from the spring, grabbed her family’s old felt cloak. But the wind was stronger than any დევი (demon) from her grandmother’s stories. It scooped her up, spun her past the frozen waterfalls, and dropped her— thump —into a valley where the grass was the deep green of a Georgian summer and the sky was the blue of ancient cloisonné enamel. They soon met their first foe: the
The Scarecrow blinked. "I do remember the cheese recipe." The Tin Soldier touched his dented chest. "It is warm." The Lion stood straighter.
(ოზის ჯადოქარი – ქართულად)
The Wizard then revealed the truth: Tako’s felt cloak was not a cloak. It was a საფრე — a flying cloak. She had arrived by wind, and she could return by wind. The Tin Soldier clanked forward, blocking the blow
Tako, though trembling, took charge. "We will find the Wizard of Ozi. They say he lives in a castle of crystal that drips with ჭაჭა (grappa) fountains."
"I have no heart," he said, "but my chest dented to protect Tako. Is that not… something?"
So they walked the — except here, it was a path of golden თაფლი (honeycomb), sticky and sweet, winding through forests of ancient oaks draped in საჭერი (grapevines).
Next, a — no, a Tin Soldier , his body hammered from old ქვევრი (wine jar) copper. He stood frozen mid-step. "I have no heart," he clanked. "When the village children sing 'Shen Khar Venakhi,' I feel nothing."