Chapter 8

The Deadly Poppy Field

The travelers awakened the next morning refreshed and full of hope. Dorothy breakfasted like a princess with peaches and plums from the trees beside the river. Behind them was the dark forest they had passed through, and before them was a lovely, sunny country.

The raft was nearly done, and after the Tin Woodman had cut a few more logs and fastened them together, they were ready to start. Dorothy sat down in the middle of the raft and held Toto in her arms. Then the Cowardly Lion stepped upon the raft, and then the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman. They had long poles in their hands to push the raft through the water.

They got along quite well at first, but when they reached the middle of the river the current swept the raft downstream, farther and farther away from the road of yellow brick. And the water grew so deep that the long poles could not touch the bottom.

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

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

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

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

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

“We must certainly get to the Emerald City if we can,” the Scarecrow continued. He his pole into the river mud and it got stuck. Before he could pull it out again–or let go of it–the raft moved further, and the poor Scarecrow 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.

Of course this was a bad thing for the Scarecrow.

“I am now worse off than when I first met Dorothy,” he thought. “Then, I was stuck on a pole in a cornfield. But surely there is no use for a Scarecrow stuck on a pole in the middle of a river. I am afraid I shall never have any brains, after all!”

Down the stream the raft floated, and the poor Scarecrow was left far behind. The Lion said:

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

So he sprang into the water, and the Tin Woodman caught fast hold of his tail. Then the Lion began to swim toward the shore. It was hard work, but eventually they reached land.

They were all tired and they knew that the stream had carried them far way from the road of yellow brick that led to the Emerald City.

“What shall we do now?” asked the Tin Woodman.

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

“The best plan will be to walk along the riverbank until we come to the road again,” remarked the Lion.

So, when they were rested, Dorothy picked up her basket and they started along the river bank.

They walked along as fast as they could, and after a time the Tin Woodman cried out: “Look!”

Then they all looked at the river and saw the Scarecrow on his pole in the middle of the water.

“What can we do to save him?” asked Dorothy.

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

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

“I am Dorothy,” answered the girl, “and these are my friends, the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion; and we are going to the Emerald City.”

“This isn’t the road,” said the Stork.

“I know it,” returned Dorothy, “but we have lost the Scarecrow, and are wondering how we shall get him again.”

“Where is he?” asked the Stork.

“Over there in the river,” answered the little girl.

“If he wasn’t so big and heavy I would get him for you,” remarked the Stork.

“He isn’t heavy,” said Dorothy eagerly, “for he is stuffed with straw; and if you will bring him back to us, we shall thank you ever and ever so much.”

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

So the big bird flew into the air and to where the Scarecrow was. Then the Stork grabbed the Scarecrow by the arm and carried him up into the air and back to the bank, where Dorothy and the Lion and the Tin Woodman and Toto were sitting.

When the Scarecrow found himself among his friends again, he was so happy that he hugged them all, even the Lion and Toto.

“I was afraid I should have to stay in the river forever,” he said, “but the kind Stork saved me! 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. 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.

They walked along listening to the singing of the brightly colored birds and looking at the lovely flowers. 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 as 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. 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. Her eyes grew heavy and she felt she wanted 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 field as soon as you can. We will bring the little girl with us.”

So the Lion ran forward as fast as he could go. In a moment he was out of sight.

“Let us carry her,” said the Scarecrow. So they picked up Toto and put the dog in Dorothy’s lap, and then they carried the sleeping girl and her dog through the flowers.

On and on they walked. At lastthey came upon 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.

“We can do nothing for him,” said the Tin Woodman, sadly; “for he is much too heavy to carry.”

“I’m sorry,” said the Scarecrow. “The Lion was a very good comrade, even if he was cowardly. Let us go on.”

They carried the sleeping girl to the river, far enough from the poppy field to prevent her breathing any more of the flower scent, and waited for the fresh breeze to waken her.

Chapter 9

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. He turned his head and saw a strange beast coming toward them. It was a great yellow Wildcat. The Woodman thought it must be chasing something. As it came nearer he saw that running before the beast was a little gray field mouse.

The Woodman raised his axe, and as the Wildcat ran by he gave it a quick blow that cut the beast’s head off.

The field mouse, now that it was freed from its enemy, stopped. It came up to the Woodman and said, in a squeaky little voice: “Oh, thank you! Thank you 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 ran up to 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?”

“This funny tin man,” she answered, “killed the Wildcat and saved my life. You must all serve him, and obey his wishes.”

“We will!” cried all the mice. And then they scampered in all directions, for Toto had awakened from his sleep, and jumped right into the middle of the group.

The Tin Woodman caught the dog in his arms and called to the mice, “Come back! Come back! Toto shall not hurt you.”

The Queen of the Mice stuck her head out from underneath a clump of grass and asked, “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 back. Toto did not bark again. 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. The Scarecrow, who had been trying to think, quickly said, “Oh, yes; you can save our friend, the Cowardly Lion, who is asleep in the poppy field.”

“A Lion!” cried the little Queen. “He will eat us.”

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

“Really?” asked the Mouse.

“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?”

“How many mice obey you?”

“Oh, 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 and soon made a truck out of the limbs of trees.

Mice 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 very surprised that she was lying upon the grass, with thousands of mice standing around. But the Scarecrow told her about everything. He then turned 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.

The Scarecrow and the Woodman began to tie the mice to the truck, using the strings they had brought. Of course the truck was a thousand times bigger than the mice; but when all the mice had been harnessed, they were able to pull it. The Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman sit on it, and were drawn by their queer little horses to the place where the Lion lay asleep.

After a lot of work, for the Lion was heavy, they managed to get him up on the truck. Soon they rolled the Lion out of the poppy bed to the green fields, where he could fresh air again.

Dorothy came to meet them and thanked the little mice for saving her companion from death.

The mice 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.

After this they sat down, waiting for the Lion to wake up.