The Road to Oz Read online

  The Emperor's Tin Castle

  The grounds around Nick Chopper's new house were laid out in prettyflower-beds, with fountains of crystal water and statues of tinrepresenting the Emperor's personal friends. Dorothy was astonished anddelighted to find a tin statue of herself standing on a tin pedestal ata bend in the avenue leading up to the entrance. It was life-size andshowed her in her sunbonnet with her basket on her arm, just as she hadfirst appeared in the Land of Oz.

  "Oh, Toto--you're there too!" she exclaimed; and sure enough there wasthe tin figure of Toto lying at the tin Dorothy's feet.

  Also Dorothy saw figures of the Scarecrow, and the Wizard, and Ozma, andof many others, including Tik-tok. They reached the grand tin entranceto the tin castle, and the Tin Woodman himself came running out of thedoor to embrace little Dorothy and give her a glad welcome. He welcomedher friends as well, and the Rainbow's Daughter he declared to be theloveliest vision his tin eyes had ever beheld. He patted Button-Bright'scurly head tenderly, for he was fond of children, and turned to theshaggy man and shook both his hands at the same time.

  Nick Chopper, the Emperor of the Winkies, who was also known throughoutthe Land of Oz as the Tin Woodman, was certainly a remarkable person. Hewas neatly made, all of tin, nicely soldered at the joints, and hisvarious limbs were cleverly hinged to his body so that he could use themnearly as well as if they had been common flesh. Once, he told theshaggy man, he had been made all of flesh and bones, as others peopleare, and then he chopped wood in the forests to earn his living. But theaxe slipped so often and cut off parts of him--which he had replacedwith tin--that finally there was no flesh left, nothing but tin; so hebecame a real tin woodman. The wonderful Wizard of Oz had given him anexcellent heart to replace his old one, and he didn't at all mind beingtin. Every one loved him, he loved every one; and he was therefore ashappy as the day was long.

  The Emperor was proud of his new tin castle, and showed his visitorsthrough all the rooms. Every bit of the furniture was made of brightlypolished tin--the tables, chairs, beds, and all--even the floors andwalls were of tin.

  "I suppose," said he, "that there are no cleverer tinsmiths in all theworld than the Winkies. It would be hard to match this castle in Kansas;wouldn't it, little Dorothy?"

  "Very hard," replied the child, gravely.

  "It must have cost a lot of money," remarked the shaggy man.

  "Money! Money in Oz!" cried the Tin Woodman. "What a queer idea! Did yousuppose we are so vulgar as to use money here?"

  "Why not?" asked the shaggy man.

  "If we used money to buy things with, instead of love and kindness andthe desire to please one another, then we should be no better than therest of the world," declared the Tin Woodman. "Fortunately money is notknown in the Land of Oz at all. We have no rich, and no poor; for whatone wishes the others all try to give him, in order to make him happy,and no one in all Oz cares to have more than he can use."

  "Good!" cried the shaggy man, greatly pleased to hear this. "I alsodespise money--a man in Butterfield owes me fifteen cents, and I willnot take it from him. The Land of Oz is surely the most favored land inall the world, and its people the happiest. I should like to live herealways."

  The Tin Woodman listened with respectful attention. Already he loved theshaggy man, although he did not yet know of the Love Magnet. So he said:

  "If you can prove to the Princess Ozma that you are honest and true andworthy of our friendship, you may indeed live here all your days, and beas happy as we are."

  "I'll try to prove that," said the shaggy man, earnestly.

  "And now," continued the Emperor, "you must all go to your rooms andprepare for dinner, which will presently be served in the grand tindining-hall. I am sorry, Shaggy Man, that I can not offer you a changeof clothing; but I dress only in tin, myself, and I suppose that wouldnot suit you."

  "I care little about dress," said the shaggy man, indifferently.

  "So I should imagine," replied the Emperor, with true politeness.

  They were shown to their rooms and permitted to make such toilets asthey could, and soon they assembled again in the grand tin dining-hall,even Toto being present. For the Emperor was fond of Dorothy's littledog, and the girl explained to her friends that in Oz all animals weretreated with as much consideration as the people--"if they behavethemselves," she added.

  Toto behaved himself, and sat in a tin high-chair beside Dorothy and atehis dinner from a tin platter.

  Indeed, they all ate from tin dishes, but these were of pretty shapesand brightly polished; Dorothy thought they were just as good as silver.

  Button-Bright looked curiously at the man who had "no appetite insidehim," for the Tin Woodman, although he had prepared so fine a feast forhis guests, ate not a mouthful himself, sitting patiently in his placeto see that all built so they could eat were well and plentifullyserved.

  POLYCHROME DANCED GRACEFULLY TO THE MUSIC]

  What pleased Button-Bright most about the dinner was the tin orchestrathat played sweet music while the company ate. The players were nottin, being just ordinary Winkies; but the instruments they played uponwere all tin--tin trumpets, tin fiddles, tin drums and cymbals andflutes and horns and all. They played so nicely the "Shining EmperorWaltz," composed expressly in honor of the Tin Woodman by Mr. H. M.Wogglebug, T. E., that Polly could not resist dancing to it. After shehad tasted a few dewdrops, freshly gathered for her, she dancedgracefully to the music while the others finished their repast; and whenshe whirled until her fleecy draperies of rainbow hues enveloped herlike a cloud, the Tin Woodman was so delighted that he clapped his tinhands until the noise of them drowned the sound of the cymbals.

  Altogether it was a merry meal, although Polychrome ate little and thehost nothing at all.

  "I'm sorry the Rainbow's Daughter missed her mist-cakes," said the TinWoodman to Dorothy; "but by a mistake Miss Polly's mist-cakes weremislaid and not missed until now. I'll try to have some for herbreakfast."

  They spent the evening telling stories, and the next morning left thesplendid tin castle and set out upon the road to the Emerald City. TheTin Woodman went with them, of course, having by this time been sobrightly polished that he sparkled like silver. His axe, which he alwayscarried with him, had a steel blade that was tin plated and a handlecovered with tin plate beautifully engraved and set with diamonds.

  The Winkies assembled before the castle gates and cheered their Emperoras he marched away, and it was easy to see that they all loved himdearly.