Бесплатный фрагмент - The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Introduction

Folklore, legends, myths and fairy tales have followed childhood through the ages, for every healthy youngster has a wholesome and instinctive love for stories fantastic, marvelous and manifestly unreal. The winged fairies of Grimm and Andersen have brought more happiness toch ildish hearts than all other human creations.

Yetthe old time fairy tale, having served for generations, may now beclassed as “historical” in the children’s library; for the time has come for a series of newer “wonder tales” in which thestereo typed genie, dwarf and fairy are eliminated, together with all the horrible and blood-curdling incidents devised by their authors to point a fearsome moral to each tale. Modern education includes morality; therefore the modern child seeks only entertainment in its wonder tales and gladly dispenses with all disagreeable incident.

Having this thought in mind, the story of “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” was written solely to please children of today. It aspires to being a modernized fairy tale, in which the wonderment and joy are retainedand the heartaches and nightmares are left out.

L. Frank Baum
Chicago, April, 1900.

Chapter I
The Cyclone

Dorothy lived in the midst of the great Kansas prairies, with Uncle Henry, who was a farmer, and Aunt Em, who was the farmer’s wife. Their house was small, for the lumber to build it had to be carried by wagon many miles. There were four walls, a floor and a roof, which made one room; and this room contained a rusty looking cookstove, a cupboard for the dishes, a table, three or four chairs, and the beds. Uncle Henry and Aunt Em had a big bed in one corner, and Dorothy a little bed in another corner. There was no garret at all, and no cellar — except a small hole dug in the ground, called a cyclone cellar, where the family could go in case one of those great whirlwinds arose, mighty enough to crush any building in its path. It was reached by a trap door in the middle of the floor, from which a ladder led down into the small, dark hole.

WhenDorothy stood in the doorway and looked around, she could see nothing but the great gray prairie on every side. Not a tree nor a housebroke the broad sweep of flat country that reached to the edge of thesky in all directions. The sun had baked the plowed land into a gray mass, with little cracks running through it. Even the grass was notgreen, for the sun had burned the tops of the long blades until they were the same gray color to be seen everywhere. Once the house had been painted, but the sun blistered the paint and the rains washed it away, and now the house 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 sparkle from her eye sand left them a sober gray; they had taken the red from her cheek sand lips, and they were gray also. She was thin and gaunt, and never smiled now. When Dorothy, who was an orphan, first came to her, Aunt Em had been so startled by the child’s laughter that she would scream and press her hand upon her heart whenever Dorothy’s merry voice reached her ears; and she still looked at the little girl with wonder that she could find anything to laugh at.

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

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

Today, however, they were not playing. Uncle Henry sat upon the doorstep and looked anxiously at the sky, which was even grayer than usual. Dorothy stood in the door with Toto in her arms, and looked at thesky too. Aunt Em was washing the dishes.

From the far north they heard a low wail of the wind, and Uncle Henry and Dorothy could see where the long grass bowed in waves before the coming storm. There now came a sharp whistling in the air from the south, and as they turned their eyes that way they saw ripples in the grass coming from that direction also.

SuddenlyUncle Henry stood up.

“There’sa cyclone coming, Em,” he called to his wife. “I’ll go look after the stock.” Then he ran toward the sheds where the cows and horses were kept.

Aunt Em dropped her work and came to the door. One glance told her of the danger close at hand.

“Quick, Dorothy!” she screamed. “Run for the cellar!”

Totojumped out of Dorothy’s arms and hid under the bed, and the girl started to get him. Aunt Em, badly frightened, threw open the trapdoor in the floor and climbed down the ladder into the small, dark hole. Dorothy caught Toto at last and started to follow her aunt. When she was halfway across the room there came a great shriek from the wind, and the house shook so hard that she lost her footing and sat down suddenly upon the floor.

Thena strange thing happened.

The house whirled around two or three times and rose slowly through theair. Dorothy felt as if she were going up in a balloon.

The north and south winds met where the house stood, and made it the exact center of the cyclone. In the middle of a cyclone the air is generally still, but the great pressure of the wind on every side of the house raised it up higher and higher, until it was at the verytop of the cyclone; and there it remained and was carried miles andmiles away as easily as you could carry a feather.

Itwas very dark, and the wind howled horribly around her, but Dorothyfound she was riding quite easily. After the first few whirls around, and one other time when the house tipped badly, she felt as if shewere being rocked gently, like a baby in a cradle.

Totodid not like it. He ran about the room, now here, now there, barkingloudly; but Dorothy sat quite still on the floor and waited to seewhat would happen.

OnceToto got too near the open trap door, and fell in; and at first thelittle girl thought she had lost him. But soon she saw one of hisears sticking up through the hole, for the strong pressure of the airwas keeping him up so that he could not fall. She crept to the hole, caught Toto by the ear, and dragged him into the room again, afterward closing the trap door so that no more accidents couldhappen.

Hourafter hour passed away, and slowly Dorothy got over her fright; butshe felt quite lonely, and the wind shrieked so loudly all about herthat she nearly became deaf. At first she had wondered if she wouldbe dashed to pieces when the house fell again; but as the hourspassed and nothing terrible happened, she stopped worrying andresolved to wait calmly and see what the future would bring. At lastshe crawled over the swaying floor to her bed, and lay down upon it; and Toto followed and lay down beside her.

Inspite of the swaying of the house and the wailing of the wind, Dorothy soon closed her eyes and fell fast asleep.

Chapter II
The Council with the Munchkins

Shewas awakened by a shock, so sudden and severe that if Dorothy had notbeen lying on the soft bed she might have been hurt. As it was, thejar made her catch her breath and wonder what had happened; and Totoput his cold little nose into her face and whined dismally. Dorothysat up and noticed that the house was not moving; nor was it dark, for the bright sunshine came in at the window, flooding the littleroom. She sprang from her bed and with Toto at her heels ran andopened the door.

Thelittle girl gave a cry of amazement and looked about her, her eyesgrowing bigger and bigger at the wonderful sights she saw.

Thecyclone had set the house down very gently — for a cyclone — in themidst of a country of marvelous beauty. There were lovely patches ofgreensward all about, with stately trees bearing rich and lusciousfruits. Banks of gorgeous flowers were on every hand, and birds withrare and brilliant plumage sang and fluttered in the trees andbushes. A little way off was a small brook, rushing and sparklingalong between green banks, and murmuring in a voice very grateful toa little girl who had lived so long on the dry, gray prairies.

Whileshe stood looking eagerly at the strange and beautiful sights, shenoticed coming toward her a group of the queerest people she had everseen. They were not as big as the grown folk she had always been usedto; but neither were they very small. In fact, they seemed about astall as Dorothy, who was a well-grown child for her age, althoughthey were, so far as looks go, many years older.

Threewere men and one a woman, and all were oddly dressed. They wore roundhats that rose to a small point a foot above their heads, with littlebells around the brims that tinkled sweetly as they moved. The hatsof the men were blue; the little woman’s hat was white, and shewore a white gown that hung in pleats from her shoulders. Over itwere sprinkled little stars that glistened in the sun like diamonds.The men were dressed in blue, of the same shade as their hats, andwore well-polished boots with a deep roll of blue at the tops. Themen, Dorothy thought, were about as old as Uncle Henry, for two ofthem had beards. But the little woman was doubtless much older. Herface was covered with wrinkles, her hair was nearly white, and shewalked rather stiffly.

Whenthese people drew near the house where Dorothy was standing in thedoorway, they paused and whispered among themselves, as if afraid tocome farther. But the little old woman walked up to Dorothy, made alow bow and said, in a sweet voice:

“Youare welcome, most noble Sorceress, to the land of the Munchkins. Weare so grateful to you for having killed the Wicked Witch of theEast, and for setting our people free from bondage.”

Dorothylistened to this speech with wonder. What could the little womanpossibly mean by calling her a sorceress, and saying she had killedthe Wicked Witch of the East? Dorothy was an innocent, harmlesslittle girl, who had been carried by a cyclone many miles from home; and she had never killed anything in all her life.

Butthe little woman evidently expected her to answer; so Dorothy said, with hesitation, “You are very kind, but there must be somemistake. I have not killed anything.”

“Yourhouse did, anyway,” replied the little old woman, with a laugh,“and that is the same thing. See!” she continued, pointing to thecorner of the house. “There are her two feet, still sticking outfrom under a block of wood.”

Dorothylooked, and gave a little cry of fright. There, indeed, just underthe corner of the great beam the house rested on, two feet weresticking out, shod in silver shoes with pointed toes.

“Oh, dear! Oh, dear!” cried Dorothy, clasping her hands together indismay. “The house must have fallen on her. Whatever shall we do?”

“Thereis nothing to be done,” said the little woman calmly.

“Butwho was she?” asked Dorothy.

“Shewas the Wicked Witch of the East, as I said,” answered the littlewoman. “She has held all the Munchkins in bondage for many years, making them slave for her night and day. Now they are all set free, and are grateful to you for the favor.”

“Whoare the Munchkins?” inquired Dorothy.

“Theyare the people who live in this land of the East where the WickedWitch ruled.”

“Areyou a Munchkin?” asked Dorothy.

“No, but I am their friend, although I live in the land of the North. Whenthey saw the Witch of the East was dead the Munchkins sent a swiftmessenger to me, and I came at once. I am the Witch of the North.”

“Oh, gracious!” cried Dorothy. “Are you a real witch?”

“Yes, indeed,” answered the little woman. “But I am a good witch, andthe people love me. I am not as powerful as the Wicked Witch was whoruled here, or I should have set the people free myself.”

“ButI thought all witches were wicked,” said the girl, who was halffrightened at facing a real witch. “Oh, no, that is a greatmistake. There were only four witches in all the Land of Oz, and twoof them, those who live in the North and the South, are good witches. I know this is true, for I am one of them myself, and cannot bemistaken. Those who dwelt in the East and the West were, indeed, wicked witches; but now that you have killed one of them, there isbut one Wicked Witch in all the Land of Oz — the one who lives in theWest.”

“But,“said Dorothy, after a moment’s thought, “Aunt Em has told me thatthe witches were all dead — years and years ago.”

“Whois Aunt Em?” inquired the little old woman.

“Sheis my aunt who lives in Kansas, where I came from.”

TheWitch of the North seemed to think for a time, with her head bowedand her eyes upon the ground. Then she looked up and said, “I donot know where Kansas is, for I have never heard that countrymentioned before. But tell me, is it a civilized country?”

“Oh, yes,” replied Dorothy.

“Thenthat accounts for it. In the civilized countries I believe there areno witches left, nor wizards, nor sorceresses, nor magicians. But, you see, the Land of Oz has never been civilized, for we are cut offfrom all the rest of the world. Therefore we still have witches andwizards amongst us.”

“Whoare the wizards?” asked Dorothy.

“Ozhimself is the Great Wizard,” answered the Witch, sinking her voiceto a whisper. “He is more powerful than all the rest of ustogether. He lives in the City of Emeralds.”

Dorothywas going to ask another question, but just then the Munchkins, whohad been standing silently by, gave a loud shout and pointed to thecorner of the house where the Wicked Witch had been lying.

“Whatis it?” asked the little old woman, and looked, and began to laugh.The feet of the dead Witch had disappeared entirely, and nothing wasleft but the silver shoes.

“Shewas so old,” explained the Witch of the North, “that she dried upquickly in the sun. That is the end of her. But the silver shoes areyours, and you shall have them to wear.” She reached down andpicked up the shoes, and after shaking the dust out of them handedthem to Dorothy.

“TheWitch of the East was proud of those silver shoes,” said one of theMunchkins, “and there is some charm connected with them; but whatit is we never knew.”

Dorothycarried the shoes into the house and placed them on the table. Thenshe came out again to the Munchkins and said:

“Iam anxious to get back to my aunt and uncle, for I am sure they willworry about me. Can you help me find my way?”

TheMunchkins and the Witch first looked at one another, and then atDorothy, and then shook their heads.

“Atthe East, not far from here,” said one, “there is a great desert, and none could live to cross it.”

“Itis the same at the South,” said another, “for I have been thereand seen it. The South is the country of the Quadlings.”

“Iam told,” said the third man, “that it is the same at the West.And that country, where the Winkies live, is ruled by the WickedWitch of the West, who would make you her slave if you passed herway.”

“TheNorth is my home,” said the old lady, “and at its edge is thesame great desert that surrounds this Land of Oz. I’m afraid, mydear, you will have to live with us.”

Dorothybegan to sob at this, for she felt lonely among all these strangepeople. Her tears seemed to grieve the kind-hearted Munchkins, forthey immediately took out their handkerchiefs and began to weep also.As for the little old woman, she took off her cap and balanced thepoint on the end of her nose, while she counted “One, two, three”in a solemn voice. At once the cap changed to a slate, on which waswritten in big, white chalk marks:

“LETDOROTHY GO TO THE CITY OF EMERALDS”

Thelittle old woman took the slate from her nose, and having read thewords on it, asked, “Is your name Dorothy, my dear?”

“Yes,“answered the child, looking up and drying her tears.

“Thenyou must go to the City of Emeralds. Perhaps Oz will help you.”

“Whereis this city?” asked Dorothy.

“Itis exactly in the center of the country, and is ruled by Oz, theGreat Wizard I told you of.”

“Ishe a good man?” inquired the girl anxiously.

“Heis a good Wizard. Whether he is a man or not I cannot tell, for Ihave never seen him.”

“Howcan I get there?” asked Dorothy.

“Youmust walk. It is a long journey, through a country that is sometimespleasant and sometimes dark and terrible. However, I will use all themagic arts I know of to keep you from harm.”

“Won’tyou go with me?” pleaded the girl, who had begun to look upon thelittle old woman as her only friend.

“No, I cannot do that,” she replied, “but I will give you my kiss, andno one will dare injure a person who has been kissed by the Witch ofthe North.”

Shecame close to Dorothy and kissed her gently on the forehead. Whereher lips touched the girl they left a round, shining mark, as Dorothyfound out soon after.

“Theroad to the City of Emeralds is paved with yellow brick,” said theWitch, “so you cannot miss it. When you get to Oz do not be afraidof him, but tell your story and ask him to help you. Good-bye, mydear.”

Thethree Munchkins bowed low to her and wished her a pleasant journey, after which they walked away through the trees. The Witch gaveDorothy a friendly little nod, whirled around on her left heel threetimes, and straightway disappeared, much to the surprise of littleToto, who barked after her loudly enough when she had gone, becausehe had been afraid even to growl while she stood by.

ButDorothy, knowing her to be a witch, had expected her to disappear injust that way, and was not surprised in the least.

Chapter III
How Dorothy Saved the Scarecrow

WhenDorothy was left alone she began to feel hungry. So she went to thecupboard and cut herself some bread, which she spread with butter.She gave some to Toto, and taking a pail from the shelf she carriedit down to the little brook and filled it with clear, sparklingwater. Toto ran over to the trees and began to bark at the birdssitting there. Dorothy went to get him, and saw such delicious fruithanging from the branches that she gathered some of it, finding itjust what she wanted to help out her breakfast.

Thenshe went back to the house, and having helped herself and Toto to agood drink of the cool, clear water, she set about making ready forthe journey to the City of Emeralds.

Dorothyhad only one other dress, but that happened to be clean and washanging on a peg beside her bed. It was gingham, with checks of whiteand blue; and although the blue was somewhat faded with manywashings, it was still a pretty frock. The girl washed herselfcarefully, dressed herself in the clean gingham, and tied her pinksunbonnet on her head. She took a little basket and filled it withbread from the cupboard, laying a white cloth over the top. Then shelooked down at her feet and noticed how old and worn her shoes were.

“Theysurely will never do for a long journey, Toto,” she said. And Totolooked up into her face with his little black eyes and wagged histail to show he knew what she meant.

Atthat moment Dorothy saw lying on the table the silver shoes that hadbelonged to the Witch of the East.

“Iwonder if they will fit me,” she said to Toto. “They would bejust the thing to take a long walk in, for they could not wear out.”

Shetook off her old leather shoes and tried on the silver ones, whichfitted her as well as if they had been made for her.

Finallyshe picked up her basket.

“Comealong, Toto,” she said. “We will go to the Emerald City and askthe Great Oz how to get back to Kansas again.”

Sheclosed the door, locked it, and put the key carefully in the pocketof her dress. And so, with Toto trotting along soberly behind her, she started on her journey.

Therewere several roads nearby, but it did not take her long to find theone paved with yellow bricks. Within a short time she was walkingbriskly toward the Emerald City, her silver shoes tinkling merrily onthe hard, yellow road-bed. The sun shone bright and the birds sangsweetly, and Dorothy did not feel nearly so bad as you might think alittle girl would who had been suddenly whisked away from her owncountry and set down in the midst of a strange land.

Shewas surprised, as she walked along, to see how pretty the country wasabout her. There were neat fences at the sides of the road, painted adainty blue color, and beyond them were fields of grain andvegetables in abundance. Evidently the Munchkins were good farmersand able to raise large crops. Once in a while she would pass ahouse, and the people came out to look at her and bow low as she wentby; for everyone knew she had been the means of destroying the WickedWitch and setting them free from bondage. The houses of the Munchkinswere odd-looking dwellings, for each was round, with a big dome for aroof. All were painted blue, for in this country of the East blue wasthe favorite color.

Towardevening, when Dorothy was tired with her long walk and began towonder where she should pass the night, she came to a house ratherlarger than the rest. On the green lawn before it many men and womenwere dancing. Five little fiddlers played as loudly as possible, andthe people were laughing and singing, while a big table near by wasloaded with delicious fruits and nuts, pies and cakes, and many othergood things to eat.

Thepeople greeted Dorothy kindly, and invited her to supper and to passthe night with them; for this was the home of one of the richestMunchkins in the land, and his friends were gathered with him tocelebrate their freedom from the bondage of the Wicked Witch.

Dorothyate a hearty supper and was waited upon by the rich Munchkin himself, whose name was Boq. Then she sat upon a settee and watched the peopledance.

WhenBoq saw her silver shoes he said, “You must be a great sorceress.”

“Why?“asked the girl.

“Becauseyou wear silver shoes and have killed the Wicked Witch. Besides, youhave white in your frock, and only witches and sorceresses wearwhite.”

“Mydress is blue and white checked,” said Dorothy, smoothing out thewrinkles in it.

“Itis kind of you to wear that,” said Boq. “Blue is the color of theMunchkins, and white is the witch color. So we know you are afriendly witch.”

Dorothydid not know what to say to this, for all the people seemed to thinkher a witch, and she knew very well she was only an ordinary littlegirl who had come by the chance of a cyclone into a strange land.

Whenshe had tired watching the dancing, Boq led her into the house, wherehe gave her a room with a pretty bed in it. The sheets were made ofblue cloth, and Dorothy slept soundly in them till morning, with Totocurled up on the blue rug beside her.

Sheate a hearty breakfast, and watched a wee Munchkin baby, who playedwith Toto and pulled his tail and crowed and laughed in a way thatgreatly amused Dorothy. Toto was a fine curiosity to all the people, for they had never seen a dog before.

“Howfar is it to the Emerald City?” the girl asked.

“Ido not know,” answered Boq gravely, “for I have never been there.It is better for people to keep away from Oz, unless they havebusiness with him. But it is a long way to the Emerald City, and itwill take you many days. The country here is rich and pleasant, butyou must pass through rough and dangerous places before you reach theend of your journey.”

Thisworried Dorothy a little, but she knew that only the Great Oz couldhelp her get to Kansas again, so she bravely resolved not to turnback.

Shebade her friends good-bye, and again started along the road of yellowbrick. When she had gone several miles she thought she would stop torest, and so climbed to the top of the fence beside the road and satdown. There was a great cornfield beyond the fence, and not far awayshe saw a Scarecrow, placed high on a pole to keep the birds from theripe corn.

Dorothyleaned her chin upon her hand and gazed thoughtfully at theScarecrow. Its head was a small sack stuffed with straw, with eyes, nose, and mouth painted on it to represent a face. An old, pointedblue hat, that had belonged to some Munchkin, was perched on hishead, and the rest of the figure was a blue suit of clothes, worn andfaded, which had also been stuffed with straw. On the feet were someold boots with blue tops, such as every man wore in this country, andthe figure was raised above the stalks of corn by means of the polestuck up its back.

WhileDorothy was looking earnestly into the queer, painted face of theScarecrow, she was surprised to see one of the eyes slowly wink ather. She thought she must have been mistaken at first, for none ofthe scarecrows in Kansas ever wink; but presently the figure noddedits head to her in a friendly way. Then she climbed down from thefence and walked up to it, while Toto ran around the pole and barked.

“Goodday,” said the Scarecrow, in a rather husky voice.

“Didyou speak?” asked the girl, in wonder.

“Certainly,“answered the Scarecrow. “How do you do?”

“I’mpretty well, thank you,” replied Dorothy politely. “How do youdo?”

“I’mnot feeling well,” said the Scarecrow, with a smile, “for it isvery tedious being perched up here night and day to scare awaycrows.”

“Can’tyou get down?” asked Dorothy.

“No, for this pole is stuck up my back. If you will please take away thepole I shall be greatly obliged to you.”

Dorothyreached up both arms and lifted the figure off the pole, for, beingstuffed with straw, it was quite light.

“Thankyou very much,” said the Scarecrow, when he had been set down onthe ground. “I feel like a new man.”

Dorothywas puzzled at this, for it sounded queer to hear a stuffed manspeak, and to see him bow and walk along beside her.

“Whoare you?” asked the Scarecrow when he had stretched himself andyawned. “And where are you going?”

“Myname is Dorothy,” said the girl, “and I am going to the EmeraldCity, to ask the Great Oz to send me back to Kansas.”

“Whereis the Emerald City?” he inquired. “And who is Oz?”

“Why, don’t you know?” she returned, in surprise.

“No, indeed. I don’t know anything. You see, I am stuffed, so I have nobrains at all,” he answered sadly.

“Oh,“said Dorothy, “I’m awfully sorry for you.”

“Doyou think,” he asked, “if I go to the Emerald City with you, thatOz would give me some brains?”

“Icannot tell,” she returned, “but you may come with me, if youlike. If Oz will not give you any brains you will be no worse offthan you are now.”

“Thatis true,” said the Scarecrow. “You see,” he continuedconfidentially, “I don’t mind my legs and arms and body beingstuffed, because I cannot get hurt. If anyone treads on my toes orsticks a pin into me, it doesn’t matter, for I can’t feel it. ButI do not want people to call me a fool, and if my head stays stuffedwith straw instead of with brains, as yours is, how am I ever to knowanything?”

“Iunderstand how you feel,” said the little girl, who was truly sorryfor him. “If you will come with me I’ll ask Oz to do all he canfor you.”

“Thankyou,” he answered gratefully.

Theywalked back to the road. Dorothy helped him over the fence, and theystarted along the path of yellow brick for the Emerald City.

Totodid not like this addition to the party at first. He smelled aroundthe stuffed man as if he suspected there might be a nest of rats inthe straw, and he often growled in an unfriendly way at theScarecrow.

“Don’tmind Toto,” said Dorothy to her new friend. “He never bites.”

“Oh, I’m not afraid,” replied the Scarecrow. “He can’t hurt thestraw. Do let me carry that basket for you. I shall not mind it, forI can’t get tired. I’ll tell you a secret,” he continued, as hewalked along. “There is only one thing in the world I am afraidof.”

“Whatis that?” asked Dorothy; “the Munchkin farmer who made you?”

“No,“answered the Scarecrow; “it’s a lighted match.”

Chapter IV
The Road Through the Forest

Aftera few hours the road began to be rough, and the walking grew sodifficult that the Scarecrow often stumbled over the yellow bricks, which were here very uneven. Sometimes, indeed, they were broken ormissing altogether, leaving holes that Toto jumped across and Dorothywalked around. As for the Scarecrow, having no brains, he walkedstraight ahead, and so stepped into the holes and fell at full lengthon the hard bricks. It never hurt him, however, and Dorothy wouldpick him up and set him upon his feet again, while he joined her inlaughing merrily at his own mishap.

Thefarms were not nearly so well cared for here as they were fartherback. There were fewer houses and fewer fruit trees, and the fartherthey went the more dismal and lonesome the country became.

Atnoon they sat down by the roadside, near a little brook, and Dorothyopened her basket and got out some bread. She offered a piece to theScarecrow, but he refused.

“Iam never hungry,” he said, “and it is a lucky thing I am not, formy mouth is only painted, and if I should cut a hole in it so I couldeat, the straw I am stuffed with would come out, and that would spoilthe shape of my head.”

Dorothysaw at once that this was true, so she only nodded and went on eatingher bread.

“Tellme something about yourself and the country you came from,” saidthe Scarecrow, when she had finished her dinner. So she told him allabout Kansas, and how gray everything was there, and how the cyclonehad carried her to this queer Land of Oz.

TheScarecrow listened carefully, and said, “I cannot understand whyyou should wish to leave this beautiful country and go back to thedry, gray place you call Kansas.”

“Thatis because you have no brains” answered the girl. “No matter howdreary and gray our homes are, we people of flesh and blood wouldrather live there than in any other country, be it ever so beautiful.There is no place like home.”

TheScarecrow sighed.

“Ofcourse I cannot understand it,” he said. “If your heads werestuffed with straw, like mine, you would probably all live in thebeautiful places, and then Kansas would have no people at all. It isfortunate for Kansas that you have brains.”

“Won’tyou tell me a story, while we are resting?” asked the child.

TheScarecrow looked at her reproachfully, and answered:

“Mylife has been so short that I really know nothing whatever. I wasonly made day before yesterday. What happened in the world beforethat time is all unknown to me. Luckily, when the farmer made myhead, one of the first things he did was to paint my ears, so that Iheard what was going on. There was another Munchkin with him, and thefirst thing I heard was the farmer saying, “How do you like thoseears?”

“‘Theyaren’t straight,’” answered the other.

““Nevermind,”” said the farmer. ““They are ears just the same,”“which was true enough.

“‘NowI’ll make the eyes,’” said the farmer. So he painted my righteye, and as soon as it was finished I found myself looking at him andat everything around me with a great deal of curiosity, for this wasmy first glimpse of the world.

““That’sa rather pretty eye,”” remarked the Munchkin who was watching thefarmer. ““Blue paint is just the color for eyes.”

“‘Ithink I’ll make the other a little bigger,’” said the farmer.And when the second eye was done I could see much better than before.Then he made my nose and my mouth. But I did not speak, because atthat time I didn’t know what a mouth was for. I had the fun ofwatching them make my body and my arms and legs; and when theyfastened on my head, at last, I felt very proud, for I thought I wasjust as good a man as anyone.

““Thisfellow will scare the crows fast enough,” said the farmer. “Helooks just like a man.”

““Why, he is a man,” said the other, and I quite agreed with him. Thefarmer carried me under his arm to the cornfield, and set me up on atall stick, where you found me. He and his friend soon after walkedaway and left me alone.

“Idid not like to be deserted this way. So I tried to walk after them. But my feet would not touch the ground, and I was forced to stay onthat pole. It was a lonely life to lead, for I had nothing to thinkof, having been made such a little while before. Many crows and otherbirds flew into the cornfield, but as soon as they saw me they flewaway again, thinking I was a Munchkin; and this pleased me and mademe feel that I was quite an important person. By and by an old crowflew near me, and after looking at me carefully he perched upon myshoulder and said:

““Iwonder if that farmer thought to fool me in this clumsy manner. Anycrow of sense could see that you are only stuffed with straw.” Thenhe hopped down at my feet and ate all the corn he wanted. The otherbirds, seeing he was not harmed by me, came to eat the corn too, soin a short time there was a great flock of them about me.

“Ifelt sad at this, for it showed I was not such a good Scarecrow afterall; but the old crow comforted me, saying, “If you only had brainsin your head you would be as good a man as any of them, and a betterman than some of them. Brains are the only things worth having inthis world, no matter whether one is a crow or a man.”

“Afterthe crows had gone I thought this over, and decided I would try hardto get some brains. By good luck you came along and pulled me off thestake, and from what you say I am sure the Great Oz will give mebrains as soon as we get to the Emerald City.”

“Ihope so,” said Dorothy earnestly, “since you seem anxious to havethem.”

“Oh, yes; I am anxious,” returned the Scarecrow. “It is such anuncomfortable feeling to know one is a fool.”

“Well,“said the girl, “let us go.” And she handed the basket to theScarecrow.

Therewere no fences at all by the roadside now, and the land was rough anduntilled. Toward evening they came to a great forest, where the treesgrew so big and close together that their branches met over the roadof yellow brick. It was almost dark under the trees, for the branchesshut out the daylight; but the travelers did not stop, and went oninto the forest.

“Ifthis road goes in, it must come out,” said the Scarecrow, “and asthe Emerald City is at the other end of the road, we must go whereverit leads us.”

“Anyonewould know that,” said Dorothy.

“Certainly; that is why I know it,” returned the Scarecrow. “If it requiredbrains to figure it out, I never should have said it.”

Afteran hour or so the light faded away, and they found themselvesstumbling along in the darkness. Dorothy could not see at all, butToto could, for some dogs see very well in the dark; and theScarecrow declared he could see as well as by day. So she took holdof his arm and managed to get along fairly well.

“Ifyou see any house, or any place where we can pass the night,” shesaid, “you must tell me; for it is very uncomfortable walking inthe dark.”

Soonafter the Scarecrow stopped.

“Isee a little cottage at the right of us,” he said, “built of logsand branches. Shall we go there?”

“Yes, indeed,” answered the child. “I am all tired out.”

Sothe Scarecrow led her through the trees until they reached thecottage, and Dorothy entered and found a bed of dried leaves in onecorner. She lay down at once, and with Toto beside her soon fell intoa sound sleep. The Scarecrow, who was never tired, stood up inanother corner and waited patiently until morning came.

WhenDorothy awoke the sun was shining through the trees and Toto had longbeen out chasing birds around him and squirrels. She sat up andlooked around her. There was the Scarecrow, still standing patientlyin his corner, waiting for her.

“Wemust go and search for water,” she said to him.

“Whydo you want water?” he asked.

“Towash my face clean after the dust of the road, and to drink, so thedry bread will not stick in my throat.”

“Itmust be inconvenient to be made of flesh,” said the Scarecrowthoughtfully, “for you must sleep, and eat and drink. However, youhave brains, and it is worth a lot of bother to be able to thinkproperly.”

Theyleft the cottage and walked through the trees until they found alittle spring of clear water, where Dorothy drank and bathed and ateher breakfast. She saw there was not much bread left in the basket, and the girl was thankful the Scarecrow did not have to eat anything, for there was scarcely enough for herself and Toto for the day.

Whenshe had finished her meal, and was about to go back to the road ofyellow brick, she was startled to hear a deep groan near by.

“Whatwas that?” she asked timidly.

“Icannot imagine,” replied the Scarecrow; “but we can go and see.”

Justthen another groan reached their ears, and the sound seemed to comefrom behind them. They turned and walked through the forest a fewsteps, when Dorothy discovered something shining in a ray of sunshinethat fell between the trees. She ran to the place and then stoppedshort, with a little cry of surprise.

Oneof the big trees had been partly chopped through, and standing besideit, with an uplifted axe in his hands, was a man made entirely oftin. His head and arms and legs were jointed upon his body, but hestood perfectly motionless, as if he could not stir at all.

Dorothylooked at him in amazement, and so did the Scarecrow, while Totobarked sharply and made a snap at the tin legs, which hurt his teeth.

“Didyou groan?” asked Dorothy.

“Yes,“answered the tin man, “I did. I’ve been groaning for more than ayear, and no one has ever heard me before or come to help me.”

“Whatcan I do for you?” she inquired softly, for she was moved by thesad voice in which the man spoke.

“Getan oil-can and oil my joints,” he answered. “They are rusted sobadly that I cannot move them at all; if I am well oiled I shall soonbe all right again. You will find an oil-can on a shelf in mycottage.”

Dorothyat once ran back to the cottage and found the oil-can, and then shereturned and asked anxiously, “Where are your joints?”

“Oilmy neck, first,” replied the Tin Woodman. So she oiled it, and asit was quite badly rusted the Scarecrow took hold of the tin head andmoved it gently from side to side until it worked freely, and thenthe man could turn it himself.

“Nowoil the joints in my arms,” he said. And Dorothy oiled them and theScarecrow bent them carefully until they were quite free from rustand as good as new.

TheTin Woodman gave a sigh of satisfaction and lowered his axe, which heleaned against the tree.

“Thisis a great comfort,” he said. “I have been holding that axe inthe air ever since I rusted, and I’m glad to be able to put it downat last. Now, if you will oil the joints of my legs, I shall be allright once more.”

Sothey oiled his legs until he could move them freely; and he thankedthem again and again for his release, for he seemed a very politecreature, and very grateful.

“Imight have stood there always if you had not come along,” he said;“so you have certainly saved my life. How did you happen to behere?”

“Weare on our way to the Emerald City to see the Great Oz,” sheanswered, “and we stopped at your cottage to pass the night.”

“Whydo you wish to see Oz?” he asked.

“Iwant him to send me back to Kansas, and the Scarecrow wants him toput a few brains into his head,” she replied.

TheTin Woodman appeared to think deeply for a moment. Then he said:

“Doyou suppose Oz could give me a heart?”

“Why, I guess so,” Dorothy answered. “It would be as easy as to givethe Scarecrow brains.”

“True,“the Tin Woodman returned. “So, if you will allow me to join yourparty, I will also go to the Emerald City and ask Oz to help me.”

“Comealong,” said the Scarecrow heartily, and Dorothy added that shewould be pleased to have his company. So the Tin Woodman shoulderedhis axe and they all passed through the forest until they came to theroad that was paved with yellow brick.

TheTin Woodman had asked Dorothy to put the oil-can in her basket.“For,” he said, “if I should get caught in the rain, and rustagain, I would need the oil-can badly.”

Itwas a bit of good luck to have their new comrade join the party, forsoon after they had begun their journey again they came to a placewhere the trees and branches grew so thick over the road that thetravelers could not pass. But the Tin Woodman set to work with hisaxe and chopped so well that soon he cleared a passage for the entireparty.

Dorothywas thinking so earnestly as they walked along that she did notnotice when the Scarecrow stumbled into a hole and rolled over to theside of the road. Indeed he was obliged to call to her to help him upagain.

“Whydidn’t you walk around the hole?” asked the Tin Woodman.

“Idon’t know enough,” replied the Scarecrow cheerfully. “My headis stuffed with straw, you know, and that is why I am going to Oz toask him for some brains.”

“Oh, I see,” said the Tin Woodman. “But, after all, brains are not thebest things in the world.”

“Haveyou any?” inquired the Scarecrow.

“No, my head is quite empty,” answered the Woodman. “But once I hadbrains, and a heart also; so, having tried them both, I should muchrather have a heart.”

“Andwhy is that?” asked the Scarecrow.

“Iwill tell you my story, and then you will know.”

So, while they were walking through the forest, the Tin Woodman told thefollowing story:

“Iwas born the son of a woodman who chopped down trees in the forestand sold the wood for a living. When I grew up, I too became awoodchopper, and after my father died I took care of my old mother aslong as she lived. Then I made up my mind that instead of livingalone I would marry, so that I might not become lonely.

“Therewas one of the Munchkin girls who was so beautiful that I soon grewto love her with all my heart. She, on her part, promised to marry meas soon as I could earn enough money to build a better house for her; so I set to work harder than ever. But the girl lived with an oldwoman who did not want her to marry anyone, for she was so lazy shewished the girl to remain with her and do the cooking and thehousework. So the old woman went to the Wicked Witch of the East, andpromised her two sheep and a cow if she would prevent the marriage.Thereupon the Wicked Witch enchanted my axe, and when I was choppingaway at my best one day, for I was anxious to get the new house andmy wife as soon as possible, the axe slipped all at once and cut offmy left leg.

“Thisat first seemed a great misfortune, for I knew a one-legged man couldnot do very well as a wood-chopper. So I went to a tinsmith and hadhim make me a new leg out of tin. The leg worked very well, once Iwas used to it. But my action angered the Wicked Witch of the East, for she had promised the old woman I should not marry the prettyMunchkin girl. When I began chopping again, my axe slipped and cutoff my right leg. Again I went to the tinsmith, and again he made mea leg out of tin. After this the enchanted axe cut off my arms, oneafter the other; but, nothing daunted, I had them replaced with tinones. The Wicked Witch then made the axe slip and cut off my head, and at first I thought that was the end of me. But the tinsmithhappened to come along, and he made me a new head out of tin.

“Ithought I had beaten the Wicked Witch then, and I worked harder thanever; but I little knew how cruel my enemy could be. She thought of anew way to kill my love for the beautiful Munchkin maiden, and mademy axe slip again, so that it cut right through my body, splitting meinto two halves. Once more the tinsmith came to my help and made me abody of tin, fastening my tin arms and legs and head to it, by meansof joints, so that I could move around as well as ever. But, alas! Ihad now no heart, so that I lost all my love for the Munchkin girl, and did not care whether I married her or not. I suppose she is stillliving with the old woman, waiting for me to come after her.

“Mybody shone so brightly in the sun that I felt very proud of it and itdid not matter now if my axe slipped, for it could not cut me. Therewas only one danger — that my joints would rust; but I kept anoil-can in my cottage and took care to oil myself whenever I neededit. However, there came a day when I forgot to do this, and, beingcaught in a rainstorm, before I thought of the danger my joints hadrusted, and I was left to stand in the woods until you came to helpme. It was a terrible thing to undergo, but during the year I stoodthere I had time to think that the greatest loss I had known was theloss of my heart. While I was in love I was the happiest man onearth; but no one can love who has not a heart, and so I am resolvedto ask Oz to give me one. If he does, I will go back to the Munchkinmaiden and marry her.”

BothDorothy and the Scarecrow had been greatly interested in the story ofthe Tin Woodman, and now they knew why he was so anxious to get a newheart.

“Allthe same,” said the Scarecrow, “I shall ask for brains instead ofa heart; for a fool would not know what to do with a heart if he hadone.”

“Ishall take the heart,” returned the Tin Woodman; “for brains donot make one happy, and happiness is the best thing in the world.”

Dorothydid not say anything, for she was puzzled to know which of her twofriends was right, and she decided if she could only get back toKansas and Aunt Em, it did not matter so much whether the Woodman hadno brains and the Scarecrow no heart, or each got what he wanted.

Whatworried her most was that the bread was nearly gone, and another mealfor herself and Toto would empty the basket. To be sure, neither theWoodman nor the Scarecrow ever ate anything, but she was not made oftin nor straw, and could not live unless she was fed.

Allthis time Dorothy and her companions had been walking through thethick woods. The road was still paved with yellow brick, but thesewere much covered by dried branches and dead leaves from the trees, and the walking was not at all good.

Therewere few birds in this part of the forest, for birds love the opencountry where there is plenty of sunshine. But now and then therecame a deep growl from some wild animal hidden among the trees. Thesesounds made the little girl’s heart beat fast, for she did not knowwhat made them; but Toto knew, and he walked close to Dorothy’sside, and did not even bark in return.

“Howlong will it be,” the child asked of the Tin Woodman, “before weare out of the forest?”

“Icannot tell,” was the answer, “for I have never been to theEmerald City. But my father went there once, when I was a boy, and hesaid it was a long journey through a dangerous country, althoughnearer to the city where Oz dwells the country is beautiful. But I amnot afraid so long as I have my oil-can, and nothing can hurt theScarecrow, while you bear upon your forehead the mark of the GoodWitch’s kiss, and that will protect you from harm.”

“ButToto!” said the girl anxiously. “What will protect him?”

“Wemust protect him ourselves if he is in danger,” replied the TinWoodman.

Justas he spoke there came from the forest a terrible roar, and the nextmoment a great Lion bounded into the road. With one blow of his pawhe sent the Scarecrow spinning over and over to the edge of the road, and then he struck at the Tin Woodman with his sharp claws. But, tothe Lion’s surprise, he could make no impression on the tin, although the Woodman fell over in the road and lay still.

LittleToto, now that he had an enemy to face, ran barking toward the Lion, and the great beast had opened his mouth to bite the dog, whenDorothy, fearing Toto would be killed, and heedless of danger, rushedforward and slapped the Lion upon his nose as hard as she could, while she cried out:

“Don’tyou dare to bite Toto! You ought to be ashamed of yourself, a bigbeast like you, to bite a poor little dog!”

“Ididn’t bite him,” said the Lion, as he rubbed his nose with hispaw where Dorothy had hit it.

“No, but you tried to,” she retorted. “You are nothing but a bigcoward.”

“Iknow it,” said the Lion, hanging his head in shame. “I’vealways known it. But how can I help it?”

“Idon’t know, I’m sure. To think of your striking a stuffed man, like the poor Scarecrow!”

“Ishe stuffed?” asked the Lion in surprise, as he watched her pick upthe Scarecrow and set him upon his feet, while she patted him intoshape again.

“Ofcourse he’s stuffed,” replied Dorothy, who was still angry.

“That’swhy he went over so easily,” remarked the Lion. “It astonished meto see him whirl around so. Is the other one stuffed also?”

“No,“said Dorothy, “he’s made of tin.” And she helped the Woodman upagain.

“That’swhy he nearly blunted my claws,” said the Lion. “When theyscratched against the tin it made a cold shiver run down my back. What is that little animal you are so tender of?”

“Heis my dog, Toto,” answered Dorothy.

“Ishe made of tin, or stuffed?” asked the Lion.

“Neither. He’s a — a — a meat dog,” said the girl.

“Oh! He’s a curious animal and seems remarkably small, now that I lookat him. No one would think of biting such a little thing, except acoward like me,” continued the Lion sadly.

“Whatmakes you a coward?” asked Dorothy, looking at the great beast inwonder, for he was as big as a small horse.

“It’sa mystery,” replied the Lion. “I suppose I was born that way. Allthe other animals in the forest naturally expect me to be brave, forthe Lion is everywhere thought to be the King of Beasts. I learnedthat if I roared very loudly every living thing was frightened andgot out of my way. Whenever I’ve met a man I’ve been awfullyscared; but I just roared at him, and he has always run away as fastas he could go. If the elephants and the tigers and the bears hadever tried to fight me, I should have run myself — I’m such acoward; but just as soon as they hear me roar they all try to getaway from me, and of course I let them go.”

“Butthat isn’t right. The King of Beasts shouldn’t be a coward,“said the Scarecrow.

“Iknow it,” returned the Lion, wiping a tear from his eye with thetip of his tail. “It is my great sorrow, and makes my life veryunhappy. But whenever there is danger, my heart begins to beat fast.”

“Perhapsyou have heart disease,” said the Tin Woodman.

“Itmay be,” said the Lion.

“Ifyou have,” continued the Tin Woodman, “you ought to be glad, forit proves you have a heart. For my part, I have no heart; so I cannothave heart disease.”

“Perhaps,“said the Lion thoughtfully, “if I had no heart I should not be acoward.”

“Haveyou brains?” asked the Scarecrow.

“Isuppose so. I’ve never looked to see,” replied the Lion.

“Iam going to the Great Oz to ask him to give me some,” remarked theScarecrow, “for my head is stuffed with straw.”

“AndI am going to ask him to give me a heart,” said the Woodman.

“AndI am going to ask him to send Toto and me back to Kansas,” addedDorothy.

“Doyou think Oz could give me courage?” asked the Cowardly Lion.

“Justas easily as he could give me brains,” said the Scarecrow.

“Orgive me a heart,” said the Tin Woodman.

“Orsend me back to Kansas,” said Dorothy.

“Then, if you don’t mind, I’ll go with you,” said the Lion, “for mylife is simply unbearable without a bit of courage.”

“Youwill be very welcome,” answered Dorothy, “for you will help tokeep away the other wild beasts. It seems to me they must be morecowardly than you are if they allow you to scare them so easily.”

“Theyreally are,” said the Lion, “but that doesn’t make me anybraver, and as long as I know myself to be a coward I shall beunhappy.”

Soonce more the little company set off upon the journey, the Lionwalking with stately strides at Dorothy’s side. Toto did notapprove of this new comrade at first, for he could not forget hownearly he had been crushed between the Lion’s great jaws. But aftera time he became more at ease, and presently Toto and the CowardlyLion had grown to be good friends.

Duringthe rest of that day there was no other adventure to mar the peace oftheir journey. Once, indeed, the Tin Woodman stepped upon a beetlethat was crawling along the road, and killed the poor little thing.This made the Tin Woodman very unhappy, for he was always careful notto hurt any living creature; and as he walked along he wept severaltears of sorrow and regret. These tears ran slowly down his face andover the hinges of his jaw, and there they rusted. When Dorothypresently asked him a question the Tin Woodman could not open hismouth, for his jaws were tightly rusted together. He became greatlyfrightened at this and made many motions to Dorothy to relieve him, but she could not understand. The Lion was also puzzled to know whatwas wrong. But the Scarecrow seized the oil-can from Dorothy’sbasket and oiled the Woodman’s jaws, so that after a few moments hecould talk as well as before.

“This will serve me a lesson,” said he, “to look where I step. For if Ishould kill another bug or beetle I should surely cry again, andcrying rusts my jaws so that I cannot speak.”

Thereafterhe walked very carefully, with his eyes on the road, and when he sawa tiny ant toiling by he would step over it, so as not to harm it.The Tin Woodman knew very well he had no heart, and therefore he took great care never to be cruel or unkind to anything.

“You people with hearts,” he said, “have something to guide you, andneed never do wrong; but I have no heart, and so I must be verycareful. When Oz gives me a heart of course I needn’t mind somuch.”

They were obliged to camp out that night under a large tree in the forest, for there were no houses near. The tree made a good, thick coveringto protect them from the dew, and the Tin Woodman chopped a greatpile of wood with his axe and Dorothy built a splendid fire thatwarmed her and made her feel less lonely. She and Toto ate the lastof their bread, and now she did not know what they would do forbreakfast.

“I fyou wish,” said the Lion, “I will go into the forest and kill adeer for you. You can roast it by the fire, since your tastes are sopeculiar that you prefer cooked food, and then you will have a verygood breakfast.”

“Don’t! Please don’t,” begged the Tin Woodman. “I should certainly weepif you killed a poor deer, and then my jaws would rust again.”

Butthe Lion went away into the forest and found his own supper, and noone ever knew what it was, for he didn’t mention it. And theScarecrow found a tree full of nuts and filled Dorothy’s basketwith them, so that she would not be hungry for a long time. Shethought this was very kind and thoughtful of the Scarecrow, but shelaughed heartily at the awkward way in which the poor creature pickedup the nuts. His padded hands were so clumsy and the nuts were sosmall that he dropped almost as many as he put in the basket. But theScarecrow did not mind how long it took him to fill the basket, forit enabled him to keep away from the fire, as he feared a spark mightget into his straw and burn him up. So he kept a good distance awayfrom the flames, and only came near to cover Dorothy with dry leaveswhen she lay down to sleep. These kept her very snug and warm, andshe slept soundly until morning.

Whenit was daylight, the girl bathed her face in a little rippling brook, and soon after they all started toward the Emerald City.

Thiswas to be an eventful day for the travelers. They had hardly beenwalking an hour when they saw before them a great ditch that crossedthe road and divided the forest as far as they could see on eitherside. It was a very wide ditch, and when they crept up to the edgeand looked into it they could see it was also very deep, and therewere many big, jagged rocks at the bottom. The sides were so steepthat none of them could climb down, and for a moment it seemed thattheir journey must end.

“Whatshall we do?” asked Dorothy despairingly.

“Ihaven’t the faintest idea,” said the Tin Woodman, and the Lionshook his shaggy mane and looked thoughtful.

Butthe Scarecrow said, “We cannot fly, that is certain. Neither can weclimb down into this great ditch. Therefore, if we cannot jump overit, we must stop where we are.”

“Ithink I could jump over it,” said the Cowardly Lion, aftermeasuring the distance carefully in his mind.

“Thenwe are all right,” answered the Scarecrow, “for you can carry usall over on your back, one at a time.”

“Well, I’ll try it,” said the Lion. “Who will go first?”

“Iwill,” declared the Scarecrow, “for, if you found that you couldnot jump over the gulf, Dorothy would be killed, or the Tin Woodmanbadly dented on the rocks below. But if I am on your back it will notmatter so much, for the fall would not hurt me at all.”

“Iam terribly afraid of falling, myself,” said the Cowardly Lion,“but I suppose there is nothing to do but try it. So get on my backand we will make the attempt.”

TheScarecrow sat upon the Lion’s back, and the big beast walked to theedge of the gulf and crouched down.

“Whydon’t you run and jump?” asked the Scarecrow.

“Becausethat isn’t the way we Lions do these things,” he replied. Thengiving a great spring, he shot through the air and landed safely onthe other side. They were all greatly pleased to see how easily hedid it, and after the Scarecrow had got down from his back the Lionsprang across the ditch again.

Dorothythought she would go next; so she took Toto in her arms and climbedon the Lion’s back, holding tightly to his mane with one hand. Thenext moment it seemed as if she were flying through the air; andthen, before she had time to think about it, she was safe on theother side. The Lion went back a third time and got the Tin Woodman, and then they all sat down for a few moments to give the beast achance to rest, for his great leaps had made his breath short, and hepanted like a big dog that has been running too long.

Theyfound the forest very thick on this side, and it looked dark andgloomy. After the Lion had rested they started along the road ofyellow brick, silently wondering, each in his own mind, if ever theywould come to the end of the woods and reach the bright sunshineagain. To add to their discomfort, they soon heard strange noises inthe depths of the forest, and the Lion whispered to them that it wasin this part of the country that the Kalidahs lived.

“Whatare the Kalidahs?” asked the girl.

“Theyare monstrous beasts with bodies like bears and heads like tigers,“replied the Lion, “and with claws so long and sharp that they couldtear me in two as easily as I could kill Toto. I’m terribly afraidof the Kalidahs.”

“I’mnot surprised that you are,” returned Dorothy. “They must bedreadful beasts.”

TheLion was about to reply when suddenly they came to another gulfacross the road. But this one was so broad and deep that the Lionknew at once he could not leap across it.

Sothey sat down to consider what they should do, and after seriousthought the Scarecrow said:

“Hereis a great tree, standing close to the ditch. If the Tin Woodman canchop it down, so that it will fall to the other side, we can walkacross it easily.”

“Thatis a first-rate idea,” said the Lion. “One would almost suspectyou had brains in your head, instead of straw.”

TheWoodman set to work at once, and so sharp was his axe that the treewas soon chopped nearly through. Then the Lion put his strong frontlegs against the tree and pushed with all his might, and slowly thebig tree tipped and fell with a crash across the ditch, with its topbranches on the other side.

Theyhad just started to cross this queer bridge when a sharp growl madethem all look up, and to their horror they saw running toward themtwo great beasts with bodies like bears and heads like tigers.

“Theyare the Kalidahs!” said the Cowardly Lion, beginning to tremble.

“Quick!“cried the Scarecrow. “Let us cross over.”

SoDorothy went first, holding Toto in her arms, the Tin Woodmanfollowed, and the Scarecrow came next. The Lion, although he wascertainly afraid, turned to face the Kalidahs, and then he gave soloud and terrible a roar that Dorothy screamed and the Scarecrow fellover backward, while even the fierce beasts stopped short and lookedat him in surprise.

But, seeing they were bigger than the Lion, and remembering that therewere two of them and only one of him, the Kalidahs again rushedforward, and the Lion crossed over the tree and turned to see whatthey would do next. Without stopping an instant the fierce beastsalso began to cross the tree. And the Lion said to Dorothy:

“Weare lost, for they will surely tear us to pieces with their sharpclaws. But stand close behind me, and I will fight them as long as Iam alive.”

“Waita minute!” called the Scarecrow. He had been thinking what was bestto be done, and now he asked the Woodman to chop away the end of thetree that rested on their side of the ditch. The Tin Woodman began touse his axe at once, and, just as the two Kalidahs were nearlyacross, the tree fell with a crash into the gulf, carrying the ugly, snarling brutes with it, and both were dashed to pieces on the sharprocks at the bottom.

“Well,“said the Cowardly Lion, drawing a long breath of relief, “I see weare going to live a little while longer, and I am glad of it, for itmust be a very uncomfortable thing not to be alive. Those creaturesfrightened me so badly that my heart is beating yet.”

“Ah,“said the Tin Woodman sadly, “I wish I had a heart to beat.”

Thisadventure made the travelers more anxious than ever to get out of theforest, and they walked so fast that Dorothy became tired, and had toride on the Lion’s back. To their great joy the trees becamethinner the farther they advanced, and in the afternoon they suddenlycame upon a broad river, flowing swiftly just before them. On theother side of the water they could see the road of yellow brickrunning through a beautiful country, with green meadows dotted with bright flowers and all the road bordered with trees hanging full ofdelicious fruits. They were greatly pleased to see this delightful country before them.

“Howshall we cross the river?” asked Dorothy.

“Thatis easily done,” replied the Scarecrow. “The Tin Woodman mustbuild us a raft, so we can float to the other side.”

Sothe Woodman took his axe and began to chop down small trees to make araft, and while he was busy at this the Scarecrow found on theriverbank a tree full of fine fruit. This pleased Dorothy, who hadeaten nothing but nuts all day, and she made a hearty meal of theripe fruit.

Butit takes time to make a raft, even when one is as industrious anduntiring as the Tin Woodman, and when night came the work was notdone. So they found a cozy place under the trees where they sleptwell until the morning; and Dorothy dreamed of the Emerald City, andof the good Wizard Oz, who would soon send her back to her own home againe

Chapter VIII
The Deadly Poppy Field

Ourlittle party of travelers awakened the next morning refreshed andfull of hope, and Dorothy breakfasted like a princess off peaches andplums from the trees beside the river. Behind them was the darkforest they had passed safely through, although they had sufferedmany discouragements; but before them was a lovely, sunny countrythat seemed to beckon them on to the Emerald City.

Tobe sure, the broad river now cut them off from this beautiful land. But the raft was nearly done, and after the Tin Woodman had cut a fewmore logs and fastened them together with wooden pins, they wereready to start. Dorothy sat down in the middle of the raft and heldToto in her arms. When the Cowardly Lion stepped upon the raft ittipped badly, for he was big and heavy; but the Scarecrow and the TinWoodman stood upon the other end to steady it, and they had longpoles in their hands to push the raft through the water.

Theygot along quite well at first, but when they reached the middle ofthe river the swift current swept the raft downstream, farther andfarther away from the road of yellow brick. And the water grew sodeep that the long poles would not touch the bottom.

“Thisis bad,” said the Tin Woodman, “for if we cannot get to the landwe shall be carried into the country of the Wicked Witch of the West, and she will enchant us and make us her slaves.”

“Andthen I should get no brains,” said the Scarecrow.

“AndI should get no courage,” said the Cowardly Lion.

“AndI should get no heart,” said the Tin Woodman.

“AndI should never get back to Kansas,” said Dorothy.

“Wemust certainly get to the Emerald City if we can,” the Scarecrowcontinued, and he pushed so hard on his long pole that it stuck fastin the mud at the bottom of the river. Then, before he could pull itout again — or let go — the raft was swept away, and the poorScarecrow was left clinging to the pole in the middle of the river.

“Good-bye!“he called after them, and they were very sorry to leave him. Indeed, the Tin Woodman began to cry, but fortunately remembered that hemight rust, and so dried his tears on Dorothy’s apron.

Ofcourse this was a bad thing for the Scarecrow.

“Iam now worse off than when I first met Dorothy,” he thought. “Then, I was stuck on a pole in a cornfield, where I could make-believescare the crows, at any rate. But surely there is no use for aScarecrow stuck on a pole in the middle of a river. I am afraid Ishall never have any brains, after all!”

Downthe stream the raft floated, and the poor Scarecrow was left farbehind. Then the Lion said:

“Somethingmust be done to save us. I think I can swim to the shore and pull theraft after me, if you will only hold fast to the tip of my tail.”

Sohe sprang into the water, and the Tin Woodman caught fast hold of histail. Then the Lion began to swim with all his might toward theshore. It was hard work, although he was so big; but by and by theywere drawn out of the current, and then Dorothy took the TinWoodman’s long pole and helped push the raft to the land.

Theywere all tired out when they reached the shore at last and steppedoff upon the pretty green grass, and they also knew that the streamhad carried them a long way past the road of yellow brick that led tothe Emerald City.

“Whatshall we do now?” asked the Tin Woodman, as the Lion lay down onthe grass to let the sun dry him.

“Wemust get back to the road, in some way,” said Dorothy.

“Thebest plan will be to walk along the riverbank until we come to theroad again,” remarked the Lion.

So, when they were rested, Dorothy picked up her basket and they startedalong the grassy bank, to the road from which the river had carriedthem. It was a lovely country, with plenty of flowers and fruit treesand sunshine to cheer them, and had they not felt so sorry for thepoor Scarecrow, they could have been very happy.

Theywalked along as fast as they could, Dorothy only stopping once topick a beautiful flower; and after a time the Tin Woodman cried out: “Look!”

Thenthey all looked at the river and saw the Scarecrow perched upon hispole in the middle of the water, looking very lonely and sad.

“Whatcan we do to save him?” asked Dorothy.

TheLion and the Woodman both shook their heads, for they did not know.So they sat down upon the bank and gazed wistfully at the Scarecrowuntil a Stork flew by, who, upon seeing them, stopped to rest at thewater’s edge.

“Whoare you and where are you going?” asked the Stork.

“Iam Dorothy,” answered the girl, “and these are my friends, theTin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion; and we are going to the EmeraldCity.”

“Thisisn’t the road,” said the Stork, as she twisted her long neck andlooked sharply at the queer party.

“Iknow it,” returned Dorothy, “but we have lost the Scarecrow, andare wondering how we shall get him again.”

“Whereis he?” asked the Stork.

“Overthere in the river,” answered the little girl.

“Ifhe wasn’t so big and heavy I would get him for you,” remarked theStork.

“Heisn’t heavy a bit,” said Dorothy eagerly, “for he is stuffedwith straw; and if you will bring him back to us, we shall thank youever and ever so much.”

“Well, I’ll try,” said the Stork, “but if I find he is too heavy tocarry I shall have to drop him in the river again.”

Sothe big bird flew into the air and over the water till she came towhere the Scarecrow was perched upon his pole. Then the Stork withher great claws grabbed the Scarecrow by the arm and carried him upinto the air and back to the bank, where Dorothy and the Lion and theTin Woodman and Toto were sitting.

Whenthe Scarecrow found himself among his friends again, he was so happythat he hugged them all, even the Lion and Toto; and as they walkedalong he sang “Tol-de-ri-de-oh!” at every step, he felt so gay.

“Iwas afraid I should have to stay in the river forever,” he said,“but the kind Stork saved me, and if I ever get any brains I shallfind the Stork again and do her some kindness in return.”

“That’sall right,” said the Stork, who was flying along beside them. “Ialways like to help anyone in trouble. But I must go now, for mybabies are waiting in the nest for me. I hope you will find theEmerald City and that Oz will help you.”

“Thankyou,” replied Dorothy, and then the kind Stork flew into the airand was soon out of sight.

Theywalked along listening to the singing of the brightly colored birdsand looking at the lovely flowers which now became so thick that theground was carpeted with them. There were big yellow and white andblue and purple blossoms, besides great clusters of scarlet poppies, which were so brilliant in color they almost dazzled Dorothy’seyes.

“Aren’tthey beautiful?” the girl asked, as she breathed in the spicy scentof the bright flowers.

“Isuppose so,” answered the Scarecrow. “When I have brains, I shallprobably like them better.”

“IfI only had a heart, I should love them,” added the Tin Woodman.

“Ialways did like flowers,” said the Lion. “They seem so helplessand frail. But there are none in the forest so bright as these.”

Theynow came upon more and more of the big scarlet poppies, and fewer andfewer of the other flowers; and soon they found themselves in themidst of a great meadow of poppies. Now it is well known that whenthere are many of these flowers together their odor is so powerfulthat anyone who breathes it falls asleep, and if the sleeper is notcarried away from the scent of the flowers, he sleeps on and onforever. But Dorothy did not know this, nor could she get away fromthe bright red flowers that were everywhere about; so presently hereyes grew heavy and she felt she must sit down to rest and to sleep.

Butthe Tin Woodman would not let her do this.

“Wemust hurry and get back to the road of yellow brick before dark,“he said; and the Scarecrow agreed with him. So they kept walkinguntil Dorothy could stand no longer. Her eyes closed in spite ofherself and she forgot where she was and fell among the poppies, fastasleep.

“Whatshall we do?” asked the Tin Woodman.

“Ifwe leave her here she will die,” said the Lion. “The smell of theflowers is killing us all. I myself can scarcely keep my eyes open, and the dog is asleep already.”

Itwas true; Toto had fallen down beside his little mistress. But theScarecrow and the Tin Woodman, not being made of flesh, were nottroubled by the scent of the flowers.

“Runfast,” said the Scarecrow to the Lion, “and get out of thisdeadly flower bed as soon as you can. We will bring the little girlwith us, but if you should fall asleep you are too big to becarried.”

Sothe Lion aroused himself and bounded forward as fast as he could go.In a moment he was out of sight.

“Letus make a chair with our hands and carry her,” said the Scarecrow.So they picked up Toto and put the dog in Dorothy’s lap, and thenthey made a chair with their hands for the seat and their arms forthe arms and carried the sleeping girl between them through theflowers.

Onand on they walked, and it seemed that the great carpet of deadlyflowers that surrounded them would never end. They followed the bendof the river, and at last came upon their friend the Lion, lying fastasleep among the poppies. The flowers had been too strong for thehuge beast and he had given up at last, and fallen only a shortdistance from the end of the poppy bed, where the sweet grass spreadin beautiful green fields before them.

“Wecan do nothing for him,” said the Tin Woodman, sadly; “for he ismuch too heavy to lift. We must leave him here to sleep on forever, and perhaps he will dream that he has found courage at last.”

“I’msorry,” said the Scarecrow. “The Lion was a very good comrade forone so cowardly. But let us go on.”

Theycarried the sleeping girl to a pretty spot beside the river, farenough from the poppy field to prevent her breathing any more of thepoison of the flowers, and here they laid her gently on the softgrass and waited for the fresh breeze to waken her.

“Wecannot be far from the road of yellow brick, now,” remarked theScarecrow, as he stood beside the girl, “for we have come nearly asfar as the river carried us away.”

TheTin Woodman was about to reply when he heard a low growl, and turninghis head (which worked beautifully on hinges) he saw a strange beastcome bounding over the grass toward them. It was, indeed, a greatyellow Wildcat, and the Woodman thought it must be chasing something, for its ears were lying close to its head and its mouth was wideopen, showing two rows of ugly teeth, while its red eyes glowed likeballs of fire. As it came nearer the Tin Woodman saw that runningbefore the beast was a little gray field mouse, and although he hadno heart he knew it was wrong for the Wildcat to try to kill such apretty, harmless creature.

Sothe Woodman raised his axe, and as the Wildcat ran by he gave it aquick blow that cut the beast’s head clean off from its body, andit rolled over at his feet in two pieces.

Thefield mouse, now that it was freed from its enemy, stopped short; andcoming slowly up to the Woodman it said, in a squeaky little voice:

“Oh, thank you! Thank you ever so much for saving my life.”

“Don’tspeak of it, I beg of you,” replied the Woodman. “I have noheart, you know, so I am careful to help all those who may need afriend, even if it happens to be only a mouse.”

“Onlya mouse!” cried the little animal, indignantly. “Why, I am aQueen — the Queen of all the Field Mice!”

“Oh, indeed,” said the Woodman, making a bow.

“Thereforeyou have done a great deed, as well as a brave one, in saving mylife,” added the Queen.

Atthat moment several mice were seen running up as fast as their littlelegs could carry them, and when they saw their Queen they exclaimed:

“Oh, your Majesty, we thought you would be killed! How did you manage toescape the great Wildcat?” They all bowed so low to the littleQueen that they almost stood upon their heads.

“Thisfunny tin man,” she answered, “killed the Wildcat and saved mylife. So hereafter you must all serve him, and obey his slightestwish.”

“Wewill!” cried all the mice, in a shrill chorus. And then theyscampered in all directions, for Toto had awakened from his sleep, and seeing all these mice around him he gave one bark of delight andjumped right into the middle of the group. Toto had always loved tochase mice when he lived in Kansas, and he saw no harm in it.

Butthe Tin Woodman caught the dog in his arms and held him tight, whilehe called to the mice, “Come back! Come back! Toto shall not hurtyou.”

Atthis the Queen of the Mice stuck her head out from underneath a clumpof grass and asked, in a timid voice, “Are you sure he will notbite us?”

“Iwill not let him,” said the Woodman; “so do not be afraid.”

Oneby one the mice came creeping back, and Toto did not bark again, although he tried to get out of the Woodman’s arms, and would havebitten him had he not known very well he was made of tin. Finally oneof the biggest mice spoke.

“Isthere anything we can do,” it asked, “to repay you for saving thelife of our Queen?”

“Nothingthat I know of,” answered the Woodman; but the Scarecrow, who hadbeen trying to think, but could not because his head was stuffed withstraw, said, quickly, “Oh, yes; you can save our friend, theCowardly Lion, who is asleep in the poppy bed.”

“ALion!” cried the little Queen. “Why, he would eat us all up.”

“Oh, no,” declared the Scarecrow; “this Lion is a coward.”

“Really?“asked the Mouse.

“Hesays so himself,” answered the Scarecrow, “and he would neverhurt anyone who is our friend. If you will help us to save him Ipromise that he shall treat you all with kindness.”

“Verywell,” said the Queen, “we trust you. But what shall we do?”

“Arethere many of these mice which call you Queen and are willing to obeyyou?”

“Oh, yes; there are thousands,” she replied.

“Thensend for them all to come here as soon as possible, and let each onebring a long piece of string.”

TheQueen turned to the mice that attended her and told them to go atonce and get all her people. As soon as they heard her orders theyran away in every direction as fast as possible.

“Now,“said the Scarecrow to the Tin Woodman, “you must go to those treesby the riverside and make a truck that will carry the Lion.”

Sothe Woodman went at once to the trees and began to work; and he soonmade a truck out of the limbs of trees, from which he chopped awayall the leaves and branches. He fastened it together with wooden pegsand made the four wheels out of short pieces of a big tree trunk. Sofast and so well did he work that by the time the mice began toarrive the truck was all ready for them.

Theycame from all directions, and there were thousands of them: big miceand little mice and middle-sized mice; and each one brought a pieceof string in his mouth. It was about this time that Dorothy woke fromher long sleep and opened her eyes. She was greatly astonished tofind herself lying upon the grass, with thousands of mice standingaround and looking at her timidly. But the Scarecrow told her abouteverything, and turning to the dignified little Mouse, he said:

“Permitme to introduce to you her Majesty, the Queen.”

Dorothynodded gravely and the Queen made a curtsy, after which she becamequite friendly with the little girl.

TheScarecrow and the Woodman now began to fasten the mice to the truck, using the strings they had brought. One end of a string was tiedaround the neck of each mouse and the other end to the truck. Ofcourse the truck was a thousand times bigger than any of the mice whowere to draw it; but when all the mice had been harnessed, they wereable to pull it quite easily. Even the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodmancould sit on it, and were drawn swiftly by their queer little horsesto the place where the Lion lay asleep.

Aftera great deal of hard work, for the Lion was heavy, they managed toget him up on the truck. Then the Queen hurriedly gave her people theorder to start, for she feared if the mice stayed among the poppiestoo long they also would fall asleep.

Atfirst the little creatures, many though they were, could hardly stirthe heavily loaded truck; but the Woodman and the Scarecrow bothpushed from behind, and they got along better. Soon they rolled theLion out of the poppy bed to the green fields, where he could breathethe sweet, fresh air again, instead of the poisonous scent of theflowers.

Dorothycame to meet them and thanked the little mice warmly for saving hercompanion from death. She had grown so fond of the big Lion she wasglad he had been rescued.

Thenthe mice were unharnessed from the truck and scampered away throughthe grass to their homes. The Queen of the Mice was the last toleave.

“Ifever you need us again,” she said, “come out into the field andcall, and we shall hear you and come to your assistance. Good-bye!”

“Good-bye!“they all answered, and away the Queen ran, while Dorothy held Tototightly lest he should run after her and frighten her.

Afterthis they sat down beside the Lion until he should awaken; and theScarecrow brought Dorothy some fruit from a tree near by, which sheate for her dinner.

Itwas some time before the Cowardly Lion awakened, for he had lainamong the poppies a long while, breathing in their deadly fragrance; but when he did open his eyes and roll off the truck he was very gladto find himself still alive.

“Iran as fast as I could,” he said, sitting down and yawning, “butthe flowers were too strong for me. How did you get me out?”

Thenthey told him of the field mice, and how they had generously savedhim from death; and the Cowardly Lion laughed, and said:

“Ihave always thought myself very big and terrible; yet such littlethings as flowers came near to killing me, and such small animals asmice have saved my life. How strange it all is! But, comrades, whatshall we do now?”

“Wemust journey on until we find the road of yellow brick again,” saidDorothy, “and then we can keep on to the Emerald City.”

So, the Lion being fully refreshed, and feeling quite himself again, theyall started upon the journey, greatly enjoying the walk through thesoft, fresh grass; and it was not long before they reached the roadof yellow brick and turned again toward the Emerald City where theGreat Oz dwelt.

Theroad was smooth and well paved, now, and the country about wasbeautiful, so that the travelers rejoiced in leaving the forest farbehind, and with it the many dangers they had met in its gloomyshades. Once more they could see fences built beside the road; butthese were painted green, and when they came to a small house, inwhich a farmer evidently lived, that also was painted green. Theypassed by several of these houses during the afternoon, and sometimespeople came to the doors and looked at them as if they would like toask questions; but no one came near them nor spoke to them because ofthe great Lion, of which they were very much afraid. The people wereall dressed in clothing of a lovely emerald-green color and worepeaked hats like those of the Munchkins.

“Thismust be the Land of Oz,” said Dorothy, “and we are surely gettingnear the Emerald City.”

“Yes,“answered the Scarecrow. “Everything is green here, while in thecountry of the Munchkins blue was the favorite color. But the peopledo not seem to be as friendly as the Munchkins, and I’m afraid weshall be unable to find a place to pass the night.”

“Ishould like something to eat besides fruit,” said the girl, “andI’m sure Toto is nearly starved. Let us stop at the next house andtalk to the people.”

So, when they came to a good-sized farmhouse, Dorothy walked boldly up tothe door and knocked.

Awoman opened it just far enough to look out, and said, “What do youwant, child, and why is that great Lion with you?”

“Wewish to pass the night with you, if you will allow us,” answeredDorothy; “and the Lion is my friend and comrade, and would not hurtyou for the world.”

“Ishe tame?” asked the woman, opening the door a little wider.

“Oh, yes,” said the girl, “and he is a great coward, too. He will bemore afraid of you than you are of him.”

“Well,“said the woman, after thinking it over and taking another peep at theLion, “if that is the case you may come in, and I will give yousome supper and a place to sleep.”

Sothey all entered the house, where there were, besides the woman, twochildren and a man. The man had hurt his leg, and was lying on thecouch in a corner. They seemed greatly surprised to see so strange acompany, and while the woman was busy laying the table the man asked:

“Whereare you all going?”

“Tothe Emerald City,” said Dorothy, “to see the Great Oz.”

“Oh, indeed!” exclaimed the man. “Are you sure that Oz will see you?”

“Whynot?” she replied.

“Why, it is said that he never lets anyone come into his presence. I havebeen to the Emerald City many times, and it is a beautiful andwonderful place; but I have never been permitted to see the Great Oz, nor do I know of any living person who has seen him.”

“Doeshe never go out?” asked the Scarecrow.

“Never. He sits day after day in the great Throne Room of his Palace, andeven those who wait upon him do not see him face to face.”

“Whatis he like?” asked the girl.

“Thatis hard to tell,” said the man thoughtfully. “You see, Oz is aGreat Wizard, and can take on any form he wishes. So that some say helooks like a bird; and some say he looks like an elephant; and somesay he looks like a cat. To others he appears as a beautiful fairy, or a brownie, or in any other form that pleases him. But who the realOz is, when he is in his own form, no living person can tell.”

“Thatis very strange,” said Dorothy, “but we must try, in some way, tosee him, or we shall have made our journey for nothing.”

“Whydo you wish to see the terrible Oz?” asked the man.

“Iwant him to give me some brains,” said the Scarecrow eagerly.

“Oh, Oz could do that easily enough,” declared the man. “He has morebrains than he needs.”

“AndI want him to give me a heart,” said the Tin Woodman.

“Thatwill not trouble him,” continued the man, “for Oz has a largecollection of hearts, of all sizes and shapes.”

“AndI want him to give me courage,” said the Cowardly Lion.

“Ozkeeps a great pot of courage in his Throne Room,” said the man,“which he has covered with a golden plate, to keep it from runningover. He will be glad to give you some.”

“AndI want him to send me back to Kansas,” said Dorothy.

“Whereis Kansas?” asked the man, with surprise.

“Idon’t know,” replied Dorothy sorrowfully, “but it is my home, and I’m sure it’s somewhere.”

“Verylikely. Well, Oz can do anything; so I suppose he will find Kansasfor you. But first you must get to see him, and that will be a hardtask; for the Great Wizard does not like to see anyone, and heusually has his own way. But what do YOU want?” he continued, speaking to Toto. Toto only wagged his tail; for, strange to say, hecould not speak.

Thewoman now called to them that supper was ready, so they gatheredaround the table and Dorothy ate some delicious porridge and a dishof scrambled eggs and a plate of nice white bread, and enjoyed hermeal. The Lion ate some of the porridge, but did not care for it, saying it was made from oats and oats were food for horses, not forlions. The Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman ate nothing at all. Toto atea little of everything, and was glad to get a good supper again.

Thewoman now gave Dorothy a bed to sleep in, and Toto lay down besideher, while the Lion guarded the door of her room so she might not bedisturbed. The Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman stood up in a corner andkept quiet all night, although of course they could not sleep.

Thenext morning, as soon as the sun was up, they started on their way, and soon saw a beautiful green glow in the sky just before them.

“Thatmust be the Emerald City,” said Dorothy.

Asthey walked on, the green glow became brighter and brighter, and itseemed that at last they were nearing the end of their travels. Yetit was afternoon before they came to the great wall that surroundedthe City. It was high and thick and of a bright green color.

Infront of them, and at the end of the road of yellow brick, was a biggate, all studded with emeralds that glittered so in the sun thateven the painted eyes of the Scarecrow were dazzled by theirbrilliancy.

Therewas a bell beside the gate, and Dorothy pushed the button and heard asilvery tinkle sound within. Then the big gate swung slowly open, andthey all passed through and found themselves in a high arched room, the walls of which glistened with countless emeralds.

Beforethem stood a little man about the same size as the Munchkins. He wasclothed all in green, from his head to his feet, and even his skinwas of a greenish tint. At his side was a large green box.

Whenhe saw Dorothy and her companions the man asked, “What do you wishin the Emerald City?”

“Wecame here to see the Great Oz,” said Dorothy.

Theman was so surprised at this answer that he sat down to think itover.

“Ithas been many years since anyone asked me to see Oz,” he said, shaking his head in perplexity. “He is powerful and terrible, andif you come on an idle or foolish errand to bother the wisereflections of the Great Wizard, he might be angry and destroy youall in an instant.”

“Butit is not a foolish errand, nor an idle one,” replied theScarecrow; “it is important. And we have been told that Oz is agood Wizard.”

“Sohe is,” said the green man, “and he rules the Emerald City wiselyand well. But to those who are not honest, or who approach him fromcuriosity, he is most terrible, and few have ever dared ask to seehis face. I am the Guardian of the Gates, and since you demand to seethe Great Oz I must take you to his Palace. But first you must put onthe spectacles.”

“Why?“asked Dorothy.

“Becauseif you did not wear spectacles the brightness and glory of theEmerald City would blind you. Even those who live in the City mustwear spectacles night and day. They are all locked on, for Oz soordered it when the City was first built, and I have the only keythat will unlock them.”

Heopened the big box, and Dorothy saw that it was filled withspectacles of every size and shape. All of them had green glasses inthem. The Guardian of the Gates found a pair that would just fitDorothy and put them over her eyes. There were two golden bandsfastened to them that passed around the back of her head, where theywere locked together by a little key that was at the end of a chainthe Guardian of the Gates wore around his neck. When they were on, Dorothy could not take them off had she wished, but of course she didnot wish to be blinded by the glare of the Emerald City, so she saidnothing.

Thenthe green man fitted spectacles for the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodmanand the Lion, and even on little Toto; and all were locked fast withthe key.

Thenthe Guardian of the Gates put on his own glasses and told them he wasready to show them to the Palace. Taking a big golden key from a pegon the wall, he opened another gate, and they all followed himthrough the portal into the streets of the Emerald City.

Evenwith eyes protected by the green spectacles, Dorothy and her friendswere at first dazzled by the brilliancy of the wonderful City. Thestreets were lined with beautiful houses all built of green marbleand studded everywhere with sparkling emeralds. They walked over apavement of the same green marble, and where the blocks were joinedtogether were rows of emeralds, set closely, and glittering in thebrightness of the sun. The window panes were of green glass; even thesky above the City had a green tint, and the rays of the sun weregreen.

Therewere many people — men, women, and children — walking about, andthese were all dressed in green clothes and had greenish skins. Theylooked at Dorothy and her strangely assorted company with wonderingeyes, and the children all ran away and hid behind their mothers whenthey saw the Lion; but no one spoke to them. Many shops stood in thestreet, and Dorothy saw that everything in them was green. Greencandy and green pop corn were offered for sale, as well as greenshoes, green hats, and green clothes of all sorts. At one place a manwas selling green lemonade, and when the children bought it Dorothycould see that they paid for it with green pennies.

Thereseemed to be no horses nor animals of any kind; the men carriedthings around in little green carts, which they pushed before them. Everyone seemed happy and contented and prosperous.

TheGuardian of the Gates led them through the streets until they came toa big building, exactly in the middle of the City, which was thePalace of Oz, the Great Wizard. There was a soldier before the door, dressed in a green uniform and wearing a long green beard.

“Hereare strangers,” said the Guardian of the Gates to him, “and theydemand to see the Great Oz.”

“Stepinside,” answered the soldier, “and I will carry your message tohim.”

Sothey passed through the Palace Gates and were led into a big roomwith a green carpet and lovely green furniture set with emeralds. Thesoldier made them all wipe their feet upon a green mat beforeentering this room, and when they were seated he said politely:

“Pleasemake yourselves comfortable while I go to the door of the Throne Roomand tell Oz you are here.”

Theyhad to wait a long time before the soldier returned. When, at last, he came back, Dorothy asked:

“Haveyou seen Oz?”

“Oh, no,” returned the soldier; “I have never seen him. But I spoke tohim as he sat behind his screen and gave him your message. He said hewill grant you an audience, if you so desire; but each one of youmust enter his presence alone, and he will admit but one each day.Therefore, as you must remain in the Palace for several days, I willhave you shown to rooms where you may rest in comfort after yourjourney.”

“Thankyou,” replied the girl; “that is very kind of Oz.”

Thesoldier now blew upon a green whistle, and at once a young girl, dressed in a pretty green silk gown, entered the room. She had lovelygreen hair and green eyes, and she bowed low before Dorothy as shesaid, “Follow me and I will show you your room.”

SoDorothy said good-bye to all her friends except Toto, and taking thedog in her arms followed the green girl through seven passages and upthree flights of stairs until they came to a room at the front of thePalace. It was the sweetest little room in the world, with a softcomfortable bed that had sheets of green silk and a green velvetcounterpane. There was a tiny fountain in the middle of the room, that shot a spray of green perfume into the air, to fall back into abeautifully carved green marble basin. Beautiful green flowers stoodin the windows, and there was a shelf with a row of little greenbooks. When Dorothy had time to open these books she found them fullof queer green pictures that made her laugh, they were so funny.

Ina wardrobe were many green dresses, made of silk and satin andvelvet; and all of them fitted Dorothy exactly.

“Makeyourself perfectly at home,” said the green girl, “and if youwish for anything ring the bell. Oz will send for you tomorrowmorning.”

Sheleft Dorothy alone and went back to the others. These she also led torooms, and each one of them found himself lodged in a very pleasantpart of the Palace. Of course this politeness was wasted on theScarecrow; for when he found himself alone in his room he stoodstupidly in one spot, just within the doorway, to wait till morning.It would not rest him to lie down, and he could not close his eyes; so he remained all night staring at a little spider which was weavingits web in a corner of the room, just as if it were not one of themost wonderful rooms in the world. The Tin Woodman lay down on hisbed from force of habit, for he remembered when he was made of flesh; but not being able to sleep, he passed the night moving his joints upand down to make sure they kept in good working order. The Lion wouldhave preferred a bed of dried leaves in the forest, and did not likebeing shut up in a room; but he had too much sense to let this worryhim, so he sprang upon the bed and rolled himself up like a cat andpurred himself asleep in a minute.

Thenext morning, after breakfast, the green maiden came to fetchDorothy, and she dressed her in one of the prettiest gowns, made ofgreen brocaded satin. Dorothy put on a green silk apron and tied agreen ribbon around Toto’s neck, and they started for the ThroneRoom of the Great Oz.

Firstthey came to a great hall in which were many ladies and gentlemen ofthe court, all dressed in rich costumes. These people had nothing todo but talk to each other, but they always came to wait outside theThrone Room every morning, although they were never permitted to seeOz. As Dorothy entered they looked at her curiously, and one of themwhispered:

“Areyou really going to look upon the face of Oz the Terrible?”

“Ofcourse,” answered the girl, “if he will see me.”

“Oh, he will see you,” said the soldier who had taken her message to theWizard, “although he does not like to have people ask to see him.Indeed, at first he was angry and said I should send you back whereyou came from. Then he asked me what you looked like, and when Imentioned your silver shoes he was very much interested. At last Itold him about the mark upon your forehead, and he decided he wouldadmit you to his presence.”

Justthen a bell rang, and the green girl said to Dorothy, “That is thesignal. You must go into the Throne Room alone.”

Sheopened a little door and Dorothy walked boldly through and foundherself in a wonderful place. It was a big, round room with a higharched roof, and the walls and ceiling and floor were covered withlarge emeralds set closely together. In the center of the roof was agreat light, as bright as the sun, which made the emeralds sparkle ina wonderful manner.

Butwhat interested Dorothy most was the big throne of green marble thatstood in the middle of the room. It was shaped like a chair andsparkled with gems, as did everything else. In the center of thechair was an enormous Head, without a body to support it or any armsor legs whatever. There was no hair upon this head, but it had eyesand a nose and mouth, and was much bigger than the head of thebiggest giant.

AsDorothy gazed upon this in wonder and fear, the eyes turned slowlyand looked at her sharply and steadily. Then the mouth moved, andDorothy heard a voice say:

“Iam Oz, the Great and Terrible. Who are you, and why do you seek me?”

Itwas not such an awful voice as she had expected to come from the bigHead; so she took courage and answered:

“Iam Dorothy, the Small and Meek. I have come to you for help.”

Theeyes looked at her thoughtfully for a full minute. Then said thevoice:

“Wheredid you get the silver shoes?”

“Igot them from the Wicked Witch of the East, when my house fell on herand killed her,” she replied.

“Wheredid you get the mark upon your forehead?” continued the voice.

“Thatis where the Good Witch of the North kissed me when she bade megood-bye and sent me to you,” said the girl.

Againthe eyes looked at her sharply, and they saw she was telling thetruth. Then Oz asked, “What do you wish me to do?”

“Sendme back to Kansas, where my Aunt Em and Uncle Henry are,” sheanswered earnestly. “I don’t like your country, although it is sobeautiful. And I am sure Aunt Em will be dreadfully worried over mybeing away so long.”

Theeyes winked three times, and then they turned up to the ceiling anddown to the floor and rolled around so queerly that they seemed tosee every part of the room. And at last they looked at Dorothy again.

“Whyshould I do this for you?” asked Oz.

“Becauseyou are strong and I am weak; because you are a Great Wizard and I amonly a little girl.”

“Butyou were strong enough to kill the Wicked Witch of the East,” saidOz.

“Thatjust happened,” returned Dorothy simply; “I could not help it.”

“Well,“said the Head, “I will give you my answer. You have no right toexpect me to send you back to Kansas unless you do something for mein return. In this country everyone must pay for everything he gets. If you wish me to use my magic power to send you home again you mustdo something for me first. Help me and I will help you.”

“Whatmust I do?” asked the girl.

“Killthe Wicked Witch of the West,” answered Oz.

“ButI cannot!” exclaimed Dorothy, greatly surprised.

“Youkilled the Witch of the East and you wear the silver shoes, whichbear a powerful charm. There is now but one Wicked Witch left in allthis land, and when you can tell me she is dead I will send you backto Kansas — but not before.”

Thelittle girl began to weep, she was so much disappointed; and the eyeswinked again and looked upon her anxiously, as if the Great Oz feltthat she could help him if she would.

“Inever killed anything, willingly,” she sobbed. “Even if I wantedto, how could I kill the Wicked Witch? If you, who are Great andTerrible, cannot kill her yourself, how do you expect me to do it?”

“Ido not know,” said the Head; “but that is my answer, and untilthe Wicked Witch dies you will not see your uncle and aunt again.Remember that the Witch is Wicked — tremendously Wicked — and oughtto be killed. Now go, and do not ask to see me again until you havedone your task.”

SorrowfullyDorothy left the Throne Room and went back where the Lion and theScarecrow and the Tin Woodman were waiting to hear what Oz had saidto her. “There is no hope for me,” she said sadly, “for Oz willnot send me home until I have killed the Wicked Witch of the West; and that I can never do.”

Herfriends were sorry, but could do nothing to help her; so Dorothy wentto her own room and lay down on the bed and cried herself to sleep.

Thenext morning the soldier with the green whiskers came to theScarecrow and said:

“Comewith me, for Oz has sent for you.”

Sothe Scarecrow followed him and was admitted into the great ThroneRoom, where he saw, sitting in the emerald throne, a most lovelyLady. She was dressed in green silk gauze and wore upon her flowinggreen locks a crown of jewels. Growing from her shoulders were wings, gorgeous in color and so light that they fluttered if the slightestbreath of air reached them.

Whenthe Scarecrow had bowed, as prettily as his straw stuffing would lethim, before this beautiful creature, she looked upon him sweetly, andsaid:

“Iam Oz, the Great and Terrible. Who are you, and why do you seek me?”

Nowthe Scarecrow, who had expected to see the great Head Dorothy hadtold him of, was much astonished; but he answered her bravely.

“Iam only a Scarecrow, stuffed with straw. Therefore I have no brains, and I come to you praying that you will put brains in my head insteadof straw, so that I may become as much a man as any other in yourdominions.”

“Whyshould I do this for you?” asked the Lady.

“Becauseyou are wise and powerful, and no one else can help me,” answeredthe Scarecrow.

“Inever grant favors without some return,” said Oz; “but this muchI will promise. If you will kill for me the Wicked Witch of the West, I will bestow upon you a great many brains, and such good brains thatyou will be the wisest man in all the Land of Oz.”

“Ithought you asked Dorothy to kill the Witch,” said the Scarecrow, in surprise.

“SoI did. I don’t care who kills her. But until she is dead I will notgrant your wish. Now go, and do not seek me again until you haveearned the brains you so greatly desire.”

TheScarecrow went sorrowfully back to his friends and told them what Ozhad said; and Dorothy was surprised to find that the Great Wizard wasnot a Head, as she had seen him, but a lovely Lady.

“Allthe same,” said the Scarecrow, “she needs a heart as much as theTin Woodman.”

Onthe next morning the soldier with the green whiskers came to the TinWoodman and said:

“Ozhas sent for you. Follow me.”