The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Page 5

  Chapter V.

  The Rescue of the Tin Woodman

  When Dorothy awoke the sun was shining through the trees and Totohad long been out chasing birds and squirrels. She sat up and lookedaround her. There was the Scarecrow, still standing patiently in hiscorner, waiting for her.

  "We must go and search for water," she said to him.

  "Why do you want water?" he asked.

  "To wash my face clean after the dust of the road, and to drink, sothe dry bread will not stick in my throat."

  "It must be inconvenient to be made of flesh," said the Scarecrow,thoughtfully; "for you must sleep, and eat and drink. However, youhave brains, and it is worth a lot of bother to be able to thinkproperly."

  They left 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.

  When she had finished her meal, and was about to go back to the roadof yellow brick, she was startled to hear a deep groan near by.

  "What was that?" she asked, timidly.

  "I cannot imagine," replied the Scarecrow; "but we can go and see."

  Just then another groan reached their ears, and the sound seemed tocome from behind them. They turned and walked through the forest afew steps, when Dorothy discovered something shining in a ray ofsunshine that fell between the trees. She ran to the place, and thenstopped short, with a cry of surprise.

  One of the big trees had been partly chopped through, and standingbeside it, with an uplifted axe in his hands, was a man made entirelyof tin. His head and arms and legs were jointed upon his body, but hestood perfectly motionless, as if he could not stir at all.

  Dorothy looked at him in amazement, and so did the Scarecrow, whileToto barked sharply and made a snap at the tin legs, which hurt histeeth.

  "Did you groan?" asked Dorothy.

  "Yes," answered the tin man; "I did. I've been groaning for more thana year, and no one has ever heard me before or come to help me."

  "What can I do for you?" she enquired, softly, for she was moved bythe sad voice in which the man spoke.

  "Get an 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 my cottage."

  Dorothy at once ran back to the cottage and found the oil-can, andthen she returned and asked, anxiously,

  "Where are your joints?"

  "Oil my neck, first," replied the Tin Woodman. So she oiled it, andas it was quite badly rusted the Scarecrow took hold of the tin headand moved it gently from side to side until it worked freely, andthen the man could turn it himself.

  "Now oil the joints in my arms," he said. And Dorothy oiled them andthe Scarecrow bent them carefully until they were quite free fromrust and as good as new.

  The Tin Woodman gave a sigh of satisfaction and lowered his axe,which he leaned against the tree.

  "This is 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."

  So they oiled his legs until he could move them freely; and hethanked them again and again for his release, for he seemed a verypolite creature, and very grateful.

  "I might have stood there always if you had not come along," he said;"so you have certainly saved my life. How did you happen to be here?"

  "We are on our way to the Emerald City, to see the great Oz," sheanswered, "and we stopped at your cottage to pass the night."

  "Why do you wish to see Oz?" he asked.

  "I want him to send me back to Kansas; and the Scarecrow wants him toput a few brains into his head," she replied.

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

  "Do you suppose Oz could give me a heart?"

  "Why, I guess so," Dorothy answered; "it would be as easy as to givethe Scarecrow brains."

  "_'This is a great comfort,' said the Tin Woodman._"]

  "True," the Tin Woodman returned. "So, if you will allow me to joinyour party, I will also go to the Emerald City and ask Oz to help me."

  "Come along," said the Scarecrow, heartily; and Dorothy addedthat she would be pleased to have his company. So the Tin Woodmanshouldered his axe and they all passed through the forest until theycame to the road that was paved with yellow brick.

  The Tin Woodman had asked Dorothy to put the oil-can in her basket."For," he said, "if I should get caught in the rain, and rust again,I would need the oil-can badly."

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

  Dorothy was thinking so earnestly as they walked along that she didnot notice when the Scarecrow stumbled into a hole and rolled over tothe side of the road. Indeed, he was obliged to call to her to helphim up again.

  "Why didn't you walk around the hole?" asked the Tin Woodman.

  "I don't know enough," replied the Scarecrow, cheerfully. "My head isstuffed with straw, you know, and that is why I am going to Oz to askhim for some brains."

  "Oh, I see;" said the Tin Woodman. "But, after all, brains are notthe best things in the world."

  "Have you any?" enquired 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."

  "And why is that?" asked the Scarecrow.

  "I will tell you my story, and then you will know."

  So, while they were walking through the forest, the Tin Woodman toldthe following story:

  "I was born the son of a woodman who chopped down trees in theforest and sold the wood for a living. When I grew up I too became awood-chopper, and after my father died I took care of my old motheras long as she lived. Then I made up my mind that instead of livingalone I would marry, so that I might not become lonely.

  "There was one of the Munchkin girls who was so beautiful that Isoon grew to love her with all my heart. She, on her part, promisedto marry me as soon as I could earn enough money to build a betterhouse for her; so I set to work harder than ever. But the girl livedwith an old woman who did not want her to marry anyone, for she wasso lazy she wished the girl to remain with her and do the cookingand the housework. So the old woman went to the wicked Witch of theEast, and promised her two sheep and a cow if she would prevent themarriage. Thereupon the wicked Witch enchanted my axe, and when I waschopping away at my best one day, for I was anxious to get the newhouse and my wife as soon as possible, the axe slipped all at onceand cut off my left leg.

  "This at first seemed a great misfortune, for I knew a one-legged mancould not do very well as a wood-chopper. So I went to a tin-smithand had him make me a new leg out of tin. The leg worked very well,once I was used to it; but my action angered the wicked Witch ofthe East, for she had promised the old woman I should not marry thepretty Munchkin girl. When I began chopping again my axe slipped andcut off my right leg. Again I went to the tinner, and again he mademe a leg out of tin. After this the enchanted axe cut off my arms,one after the other; but, nothing daunted, I had them replaced withtin ones. The wicked Witch then made the axe slip and cut off myhead, and at first I thought that was the end of me. But the tinnerhappened to come along, and he made me a new head out of tin.

  "I thought 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 lo
ve for the beautiful Munchkin maiden, and made myaxe slip again, so that it cut right through my body, splitting meinto two halves. Once more the tinner came to my help and made me abody of tin, fastening my tin arms and legs and head to it, by means ofjoints, so that I could move around as well as ever. But, alas! I hadnow no heart, so that I lost all my love for the Munchkin girl, and didnot care whether I married her or not. I suppose she is still livingwith the old woman, waiting for me to come after her.

  "My body shone so brightly in the sun that I felt very proud of itand it did not matter now if my axe slipped, for it could not cut me.There was 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 wasthe loss 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."

  Both Dorothy and the Scarecrow had been greatly interested in thestory of the Tin Woodman, and now they knew why he was so anxious toget a new heart.

  "All the same," said the Scarecrow, "I shall ask for brains insteadof a heart; for a fool would not know what to do with a heart if hehad one."

  "I shall take the heart," returned the Tin Woodman; "for brains donot make one happy, and happiness is the best thing in the world."

  Dorothy did not say anything, for she was puzzled to know which ofher two friends was right, and she decided if she could only get backto Kansas and Aunt Em it did not matter so much whether the Woodmanhad no brains and the Scarecrow no heart, or each got what he wanted.

  What worried her most was that the bread was nearly gone, and anothermeal for herself and Toto would empty the basket. To be sure neitherthe Woodman nor the Scarecrow ever ate anything, but she was not madeof tin nor straw, and could not live unless she was fed.