Chapter: Chapter VIII. The Deadly Poppy Field.


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[Illustration]

Our little party of travellers awakened 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 down stream, 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.

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"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, and 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 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!"

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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."

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So he sprang into the water and the Tin Woodman caught fast hold
of his tail, when 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 river bank 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, back 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!"

Then they all looked at the river and saw the Scarecrow perched upon
his pole in the middle of the water, looking very lonely and sad.

"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, which, 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, as she twisted her long neck
and looked sharply at the queer party.

"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 girl.

"If he wasn't so big and heavy I would get him for you," remarked the
Stork.

"He isn't heavy a bit," 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 shall have to drop him in the river again."

So the big bird flew into the air and over the water till she came to
where the Scarecrow was perched upon his pole. Then the Stork with
her great claws 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; and as they
walked along he sang "Tol-de-ri-de-oh!" at every step, he felt so gay.

"I was afraid I should have to stay in the river forever," he said,
"but the kind Stork saved me, and if I ever get any brains I shall
find the Stork again and do it 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, for
my babies are waiting in the nest for me. 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 and was soon out of sight.

[Illustration: "_The Stork carried him up into the air._"]

They walked along listening to the singing of the bright-colored
birds and looking at the lovely flowers which now became so thick that
the ground was carpeted with them. 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 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 so 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. Now 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 that were everywhere about; so presently her
eyes grew heavy and she felt she must sit down to rest and 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.

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"Run fast," said the Scarecrow to the Lion, "and get out of this
deadly flower-bed as soon as you can. We will bring the little girl
with us, but if you should fall asleep you are too big to be carried."

So the Lion aroused himself and bounded forward as fast as he could
go. In a moment he was out of sight.

"Let us make a chair with our hands, and carry her," said the
Scarecrow. So they picked up Toto and put the dog in Dorothy's lap, and
then they made a chair with their hands for the seat and their arms for
the arms and carried the sleeping girl between them through the flowers.

On and on they walked, and it seemed that the great carpet of deadly
flowers that surrounded them would never end. They followed the bend
of the river, and at last came upon their friend 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, where the sweet grass spread
in beautiful green fields before them.

"We can do nothing for him," said the Tin Woodman, sadly; "for he is
much too heavy to lift. We must leave him here to sleep on forever,
and perhaps he will dream that he has found courage at last."

"I'm sorry," said the Scarecrow; "the Lion was a very good comrade
for one so cowardly. But let us go on."

They carried the sleeping girl to a pretty spot beside the river,
far enough from the poppy field to prevent her breathing any more of
the poison of the flowers, and here they laid her gently on the soft
grass and waited for the fresh breeze to waken her.

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 Everyone's up and at 'em and feeling great. They're so glad to have gotten through the forest in one piece. Of course, they still need to cross the river, but the tin man has made considerable progress on the raft. Soon enough they're ready to roll. Everything's going well at first...that is, until the current starts pulling the raft in the wrong direction. The Scarecrow has been using a pole to help guide the raft. Somehow he wedges it deep in the mud. He hangs on to the pole, but the raft keeps moving in the current, leaving the Scarecrow behind. Oh no! Everyone is bummed--the Scarecrow most of all. The Lion decides to swim the raft to shore. He's successful. The gang is worn out but they know they need to make their way back to the yellow brick road. Soon enough, they see the Scarecrow, who's still stuck on that pole. They wonder how they can rescue their friend. A stork flies overhead, then comes in closer for a chat. Of course the stork talks. This is Oz, y'all. Dorothy explains their dilemma. The stork thinks she could help if only he weren't so heavy. Good news! Since he's made of straw, he isn't heavy at all. The stork grabs the Scarecrow in her claws and flies him back to shore. Everyone's reunited . The stork has to run, so everyone thanks her and she's off. The five walk along admiring the flowers. Suddenly the travelers find themselves in a field of poppies. And everyone knows poppies make you fall asleep. Sometimes forever. Dorothy and Toto, being small, fall asleep almost immediately. The Scarecrow has a plan: since he and the tin man aren't animals, they don't feel the effects of the poppies. They can carry Dorothy and Toto to safety. The Lion should run ahead as fast as he can because if he falls asleep, no one is strong enough to carry him. The Lion takes off. The Scarecrow and the tin man set about carrying Dorothy and Toto. Eventually, they catch up to the Lion, who didn't make it out in time. His friends are sad, but there's nothing to be done. They carry Dorothy to a spot where she can get some fresh air.

