Those creatures frightened me so badly that my heart is beating
yet."
"Ah," said the Tin Woodman sadly, "I wish I had a heart to
beat."
This adventure made the travelers more anxious than ever to get
out of the forest, and they walked so fast that Dorothy became
tired, and had to ride on the Lion's back. To their great joy the
trees became thinner the farther they advanced, and in the
afternoon they suddenly came upon a broad river, flowing swiftly
just before them. On the other side of the water they could see the
road of yellow brick running through a beautiful country, with
green meadows dotted with bright flowers and all the road bordered
with trees hanging full of delicious fruits. They were greatly
pleased to see this delightful country before them.
"How shall we cross the river?" asked Dorothy.
"That is easily done," replied the Scarecrow. "The Tin Woodman
must build us a raft, so we can float to the other side."
So the Woodman took his axe and began to chop down small trees
to make a raft, and while he was busy at this the Scarecrow found
on the riverbank a tree full of fine fruit. This pleased Dorothy,
who had eaten nothing but nuts all day, and she made a hearty meal
of the ripe fruit.
But it takes time to make a raft, even when one is as
industrious and untiring as the Tin Woodman, and when night came
the work was not done. So they found a cozy place under the trees
where they slept well until the morning; and Dorothy dreamed of the
Emerald City, and of the good Wizard Oz, who would soon send her
back to her own home again.Our little party of travelers awakened the next morning
refreshed and full of hope, and Dorothy breakfasted like a princess
off peaches and plums from the trees beside the river. Behind them
was the dark forest they had passed safely through, although they
had suffered many discouragements; but before them was a lovely,
sunny country that seemed to beckon them on to the Emerald
City.
To be 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 few more logs and fastened them together with wooden pins,
they were ready to start. Dorothy sat down in the middle of the
raft and held Toto in her arms. When the Cowardly Lion stepped upon
the raft it tipped badly, for he was big and heavy; but the
Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman stood upon the other end to steady
it, and 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 swift 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 would 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, and he pushed so hard on his long pole that it
stuck fast in the mud at the bottom of the river. Then, before he
could pull it out again—or let go—the raft was swept away, and the
poor Scarecrow 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 fortunatelyleave him. Indeed, the Tin Woodman began to cry, but fortunately
remembered that he might rust, and so dried his tears on Dorothy's
apron.
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, where I could
make-believe scare the crows, at any rate. 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. Then 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 with all his might
toward the shore. It was hard work, although he was so big; but by
and by they were drawn out of the current, and then Dorothy took
the Tin Woodman's long pole and helped push the raft to the
land.
They were all tired out when they reached the shore at last and
stepped off upon the pretty green grass, and they also knew that
the stream had carried them a long way past the road of yellow
brick that led to the Emerald City.
"What shall we do now?" asked the Tin Woodman, as the Lion lay
down on the grass to let the sun dry him.
"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 grassy bank, to the road from which the river had
carried them. It was a lovely country, with plenty of flowers and
fruit trees and sunshine to cheer them, and had they not felt so
sorry for the poor Scarecrow, they could have been very happy.
They walked along as fast as they could, Dorothy only stopping
once to pick a beautiful flower; and after a time the Tin Woodman
cried out: "Look!"