away as fast as he could go. If the elephants and the tigers and
the bears had ever tried to fight me, I should have run myself—I'm
such a coward; but just as soon as they hear me roar they all try
to get away from me, and of course I let them go."
"But that isn't right. The King of Beasts shouldn't be a
coward," said the Scarecrow.
"I know it," returned the Lion, wiping a tear from his eye with
the tip of his tail. "It is my great sorrow, and makes my life very
unhappy. But whenever there is danger, my heart begins to beat
fast."
"Perhaps you have heart disease," said the Tin Woodman.
"It may be," said the Lion.
"If you have," continued the Tin Woodman, "you ought to be glad,
for it proves you have a heart. For my part, I have no heart; so I
cannot have heart disease."
"Perhaps," said the Lion thoughtfully, "if I had no heart I
should not be a coward."
"Have you brains?" asked the Scarecrow.
"I suppose so. I've never looked to see," replied the Lion.
"I am going to the Great Oz to ask him to give me some,"
remarked the Scarecrow, "for my head is stuffed with straw."
"And I am going to ask him to give me a heart," said the
Woodman.
"And I am going to ask him to send Toto and me back to Kansas,"
added Dorothy.
"Do you think Oz could give me courage?" asked the Cowardly
Lion.
"Just as easily as he could give me brains," said the
Scarecrow.
"Or give me a heart," said the Tin Woodman.
"Or send me back to Kansas," said Dorothy.
"Then, if you don't mind, I'll go with you," said the Lion, "for
my life is simply unbearable without a bit of courage."
"You will be very welcome," answered Dorothy, "for you will help
to keep away the other wild beasts. It seems to me they must be
more cowardly than you are if they allow you to scare them so
easily."
"They really are," said the Lion, "but that doesn't make me any
braver, and as long as I know myself to be a coward I shall be
unhappy."
So once more the little company set off upon the journey, the
Lion walking with stately strides at Dorothy's side. Toto did notLion walking with stately strides at Dorothy's side. Toto did not
approve this new comrade at first, for he could not forget how
nearly he had been crushed between the Lion's great jaws. But after
a time he became more at ease, and presently Toto and the Cowardly
Lion had grown to be good friends.
During the rest of that day there was no other adventure to mar
the peace of their journey. Once, indeed, the Tin Woodman stepped
upon a beetle that was crawling along the road, and killed the poor
little thing. This made the Tin Woodman very unhappy, for he was
always careful not to hurt any living creature; and as he walked
along he wept several tears of sorrow and regret. These tears ran
slowly down his face and over the hinges of his jaw, and there they
rusted. When Dorothy presently asked him a question the Tin Woodman
could not open his mouth, for his jaws were tightly rusted
together. He became greatly frightened at this and made many
motions to Dorothy to relieve him, but she could not understand.
The Lion was also puzzled to know what was wrong. But the Scarecrow
seized the oil-can from Dorothy's basket and oiled the Woodman's
jaws, so that after a few moments he could talk as well as
before.
"This will serve me a lesson," said he, "to look where I step.
For if I should kill another bug or beetle I should surely cry
again, and crying rusts my jaws so that I cannot speak."
Thereafter he walked very carefully, with his eyes on the road,
and when he saw a tiny ant toiling by he would step over it, so as
not to harm it. The Tin Woodman knew very well he had no heart, and
therefore he took great care never to be cruel or unkind to
anything.
"You people with hearts," he said, "have something to guide you,
and need never do wrong; but I have no heart, and so I must be very
careful. When Oz gives me a heart of course I needn't mind so
much."They were obliged to camp out that night under a large tree in
the forest, for there were no houses near. The tree made a good,
thick covering to protect them from the dew, and the Tin Woodman
chopped a great pile of wood with his axe and Dorothy built a
splendid fire that warmed her and made her feel less lonely. She
and Toto ate the last of their bread, and now she did not know what
they would do for breakfast.
"If you wish," said the Lion, "I will go into the forest and
kill a deer for you. You can roast it by the fire, since your
tastes are so peculiar that you prefer cooked food, and then you
will have a very good breakfast."
"Don't! Please don't," begged the Tin Woodman. "I should
certainly weep if you killed a poor deer, and then my jaws would
rust again."
But the Lion went away into the forest and found his own supper,
and no one ever knew what it was, for he didn't mention it. And the
Scarecrow found a tree full of nuts and filled Dorothy's basket
with them, so that she would not be hungry for a long time. She
thought this was very kind and thoughtful of the Scarecrow, but she
laughed heartily at the awkward way in which the poor creature
picked up the nuts. His padded hands were so clumsy and the nuts
were so small that he dropped almost as many as he put in the
basket. But the Scarecrow did not mind how long it took him to fill
the basket, for it enabled him to keep away from the fire, as he
feared a spark might get into his straw and burn him up. So he kept
a good distance away from the flames, and only came near to cover
Dorothy with dry leaves when she lay down to sleep. These kept her
very snug and warm, and she slept soundly until morning.
When it was daylight, the girl bathed her face in a little
rippling brook, and soon after they all started toward the Emerald
City.
This was to be an eventful day for the travelers. They had
hardly been walking an hour when they saw before them a great ditch
that crossed the road and divided the forest as far as they could