The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
happy that he hugged them all, even the Lion and Toto; and as they
walked along he sang “Tol-de-ri-de-oh!” at every step, he felt so gay.
“I was 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 shall find
the Stork again and do her some kindness in return.”
“That’s all right,” said the Stork, who was flying along beside them.
“I always like to help anyone in trouble. But I must go now, for my
babies are waiting in the nest for me. I hope you will find the Emerald
City and that Oz will help you.”
“Thank you,” replied Dorothy, and then the kind Stork flew into the air
and was soon out of sight.
They walked along listening to the singing of the brightly colored
birds and looking at the lovely flowers which now became so thick that
the ground was carpeted with them. There were big yellow and white and
blue and purple blossoms, besides great clusters of scarlet poppies,
which were so brilliant in color they almost dazzled Dorothy’s eyes.
“Aren’t they beautiful?” the girl asked, as she breathed in the spicy
scent of the bright flowers.
“I suppose so,” answered the Scarecrow. “When I have brains, I shall
probably like them better.”
“If I only had a heart, I should love them,” added the Tin Woodman.
“I always did like flowers,” said the Lion. “They seem so helpless and
frail. But there are none in the forest so bright as these.”
They now came upon more and more of the big scarlet poppies, and fewer
and fewer of the other flowers; and soon they found themselves in the
midst of a great meadow of poppies. Now it is well known that when
there are many of these flowers together their odor is so powerful that
anyone who breathes it falls asleep, and if the sleeper is not carried
away from the scent of the flowers, he sleeps on and on forever. But
Dorothy did not know this, nor could she get away from the bright red
flowers that were everywhere about; so presently her eyes grew heavy
and she felt she must sit down to rest and to sleep.
But the Tin Woodman would not let her do this.
“We must hurry and get back to the road of yellow brick before dark,”
he said; and the Scarecrow agreed with him. So they kept walking until
Dorothy could stand no longer. Her eyes closed in spite of herself and
she forgot where she was and fell among the poppies, fast asleep.
“What shall we do?” asked the Tin Woodman.
“If we leave her here she will die,” said the Lion. “The smell of the
flowers is killing us all. I myself can scarcely keep my eyes open, and
the dog is asleep already.”
It was true; Toto had fallen down beside his little mistress. But the
Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman, not being made of flesh, were not
troubled by the scent of the flowers.
“Run fast,” said the Scarecrow to the Lion, “and get out of this deadly
flower bed as soon as you can. We will bring the little girl with us,
but if you should fall asleep you are too big to be carried.”
So the Lion aroused himself and bounded forward as fast as he could go.
In a moment he was out of sight.
“Let us 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 then they
made a chair with their hands for the seat and their arms for the arms
and carried the sleeping girl between them through the flowers.
On and on they walked, and it seemed that the great carpet of deadly
flowers that surrounded them would never end. They followed the bend of
the river, and at last came upon their friend the Lion, lying fast
asleep among the poppies. The flowers had been too strong for the huge
beast and he had given up at last, and fallen only a short distance
from the end of the poppy bed, where the sweet grass spread in
beautiful green fields before them.
“We can do nothing for him,” said the Tin Woodman, sadly; “for he is
much 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’m sorry,” said the Scarecrow. “The Lion was a very good comrade for
one so cowardly. But let us go on.”
They carried the sleeping girl to a pretty spot beside the river, far
enough from the poppy field to prevent her breathing any more of the
poison of the flowers, and here they laid her gently on the soft grass
and waited for the fresh breeze to waken her.
Chapter IX
The Queen of the Field Mice
“We cannot be far from the road of yellow brick, now,” remarked the
Scarecrow, as he stood beside the girl, “for we have come nearly as far
as the river carried us away.”
The Tin Woodman was about to reply when he heard a low growl, and
turning his head (which worked beautifully on hinges) he saw a strange
beast come bounding over the grass toward them. It was, indeed, a great
yellow Wildcat, and the Woodman thought it must be chasing something,
for its ears were lying close to its head and its mouth was wide open,
showing two rows of ugly teeth, while its red eyes glowed like balls of
fire. As it came nearer the Tin Woodman saw that running before the
beast was a little gray field mouse, and although he had no heart he
knew it was wrong for the Wildcat to try to kill such a pretty,
harmless creature.
So the Woodman raised his axe, and as the Wildcat ran by he gave it a
quick blow that cut the beast’s head clean off from its body, and it
rolled over at his feet in two pieces.
The field mouse, now that it was freed from its enemy, stopped short;
and coming 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’t speak of it, I beg of you,” replied the Woodman. “I have no
heart, you know, so I am careful to help all those who may need a
friend, even if it happens to be only a mouse.”
“Only a mouse!” cried the little animal, indignantly. “Why, I am a
Queen—the Queen of all the Field Mice!”
“Oh, indeed,” said the Woodman, making a bow.
“Therefore you have done a great deed, as well as a brave one, in
saving my life,” added the Queen.
At that moment several mice were seen running up as fast as their
little legs could carry them, and when they saw their Queen they
exclaimed:
“Oh, your Majesty, we thought you would be killed! How did you manage
to escape the great Wildcat?” They all bowed so low to the little Queen
that they almost stood upon their heads.
“This funny tin man,” she answered, “killed the Wildcat and saved my
life. So hereafter you must all serve him, and obey his slightest
wish.”
“We will!” cried all the mice, in a shrill chorus. And then they
scampered in all directions, for Toto had awakened from his sleep, and
seeing all these mice around him he gave one bark of delight and jumped
right into the middle of the group. Toto had always loved to chase mice
when he lived in Kansas, and he saw no harm in it.
But the Tin Woodman caught the dog in his arms and held him tight,
while he called to the mice, “Come back! Come back! Toto shall not hurt
you.”
At this the Queen of the Mice stuck her head out from underneath a
clump of grass and asked, in a timid voice, “Are you sure he will not
bite us?”
“I will not let him,” said the Woodman; “so do not be afraid.”
One by 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 have
bitten him had he not known very well he was made of tin. Finally one
of the biggest mice spoke.
“Is there anything we can do,” it asked, “to repay you for saving the
life of our Queen?”
“Nothing that I know of,” answered the Woodman; but the Scarecrow, who
had been trying to think, but could not because his head was stuffed
with straw, said, quickly, “Oh, yes; you can save our friend, the
Cowardly Lion, who is asleep in the poppy bed.”
“A Lion!” 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.
“He says so himself,” answered the Scarecrow, “and he would never hurt
anyone who is our friend. If you will help us to save him I promise
that he shall treat you all with kindness.”
“Very well,” said the Queen, “we trust you. But what shall we do?”
“Are there many of these mice which call you Queen and are willing to
obey you?”
“Oh, yes; there are thousands,” she replied.
“Then send for them all to come here as soon as possible, and let each
one bring a long piece of string.”
The Queen turned to the mice that attended her and told them to go at
once and get all her people. As soon as they heard her orders they ran
away in every direction as fast as possible.
“Now,” said the Scarecrow to the Tin Woodman, “you must go to those
trees by the riverside and make a truck that will carry the Lion.”
So the Woodman went at once to the trees and began to work; and he soon
made a truck out of the limbs of trees, from which he chopped away all
the leaves and branches. He fastened it together with wooden pegs and
made the four wheels out of short pieces of a big tree trunk. So fast
and so well did he work that by the time the mice began to arrive the
truck was all ready for them.
They came from all directions, and there were thousands of them: big
mice and little mice and middle-sized mice; and each one brought a
piece of string in his mouth. It was about this time that Dorothy woke
from her long sleep and opened her eyes. She was greatly astonished to
find herself lying upon the grass, with thousands of mice standing
around and looking at her timidly. But the Scarecrow told her about
everything, and turning to the dignified little Mouse, he said:
“Permit me to introduce to you her Majesty, the Queen.”
Dorothy nodded gravely and the Queen made a curtsy, after which she
became quite friendly with the little girl.
The Scarecrow and the Woodman now began to fasten the mice to the
truck, using the strings they had brought. One end of a string was tied
around the neck of each mouse and the other end to the truck. Of course
the truck was a thousand times bigger than any of the mice who were to
draw it; but when all the mice had been harnessed, they were able to
pull it quite easily. Even the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman could sit
on it, and were drawn swiftly by their queer little horses to the place
where the Lion lay asleep.
After a great deal of hard work, for the Lion was heavy, they managed
to get him up on the truck. Then the Queen hurriedly gave her people
the order to start, for she feared if the mice stayed among the poppies
too long they also would fall asleep.
At first the little creatures, many though they were, could hardly stir
the heavily loaded truck; but the Woodman and the Scarecrow both pushed
from behind, and they got along better. Soon they rolled the Lion out
of the poppy bed to the green fields, where he could breathe the sweet,
fresh air again, instead of the poisonous scent of the flowers.
Dorothy came to meet them and thanked the little mice warmly for saving
her companion from death. She had grown so fond of the big Lion she was
glad he had been rescued.
Then the mice were unharnessed from the truck and scampered away
through the grass to their homes. The Queen of the Mice was the last to
leave.
“If ever you need us again,” she said, “come out into the field and
call, 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 Toto tightly lest he should run after her and frighten her.
After this they sat down beside the Lion until he should awaken; and
the Scarecrow brought Dorothy some fruit from a tree near by, which she
ate for her dinner.
Chapter X
The Guardian of the Gate