Miss Leslie - "Seventy Five Receipts for Pastry Cakes, and Sweetmeats"

Thomas H. Huxley - "Geological Contemporaneity and Persistent Types of Life"

Harry A. Franck - "Zone Policeman 88"

William Shakespeare - "King Richard III"

The Tin Woodman of Oz

L >> L. Frank Baum >> The Tin Woodman of Oz




"Why don't you cross over and eat hay?" the boy asked
the beast.

"I'm not fond of hay," replied the Hip-po-gy-raf;
"straw is much more delicious, to my notion, and it's
more scarce in this neighborhood, too. Also I must
confess that I can't get across the ditch, for my body
is too heavy and clumsy for me to jump the distance. I
can stretch my neck across, though, and you will notice
that I've nibbled the hay on the farther edge -- not
because I liked it, but because one must eat, and if
one can't get the sort of food he desires, he must take
what is offered or go hungry."

"Ah, I see you are a philosopher," remarked the
Scarecrow.

"No, I'm just a Hip-po-gy-raf," was the reply.

Polychrome was not afraid of the big beast. She
danced close to him and said:

"If you can stretch your neck across the ditch, why
not help us over? We can sit on your big head, one at a
time, and then you can lift us across."

"Yes; I can, it is true," answered the Hip-po; "but I
refuse to do it. Unless --" he added, and stopped
short.

"Unless what?" asked Polychrome.

"Unless you first allow me to eat the straw with
which the Scarecrow is stuffed."

"No," said the Rainbow's Daughter, "that is too high
a price to pay. Our friend's straw is nice and fresh,
for he was restuffed only a little while ago."

"I know," agreed the Hip-po-gy-raf. "That's why I
want it. If it was old, musty straw, I wouldn't care
for it."

"Please lift us across," pleaded Polychrome.

"No," replied the beast; "since you refuse my
generous offer, I can be as stubborn as you are."

After that they were all silent for a time, but then
the Scarecrow said bravely:

"Friends, let us agree to the beast's terms. Give him
my straw, and carry the rest of me with you across the
ditch. Once on the other side, the Tin Soldier can cut
some of the hay with his sharp sword, and you can stuff
me with that material until we reach a place where
there is straw. It is true I have been stuffed with
straw all my life and it will be somewhat humiliating
to be filled with common hay, but I am willing to
sacrifice my pride in a good cause. Moreover, to
abandon our errand and so deprive the great Emperor of
the Winkies -- or this noble Soldier -- of his bride,
would be equally humiliating, if not more so."

"You're a very honest and clever man!" exclaimed the
Hip-po-gy-raf, admiringly. "When I have eaten your
head, perhaps I also will become clever."

"You're not to eat my head, you know," returned the
Scarecrow hastily. "My head isn't stuffed with straw
and I cannot part with it. When one loses his head he
loses his brains."

"Very well, then; you may keep your head," said the
beast.

The Scarecrow's companions thanked him warmly for his
loyal sacrifice to their mutual good, and then he laid
down and permitted them to pull the straw from his
body. As fast as they did this, the Hip-po-gy-raf ate
up the straw, and when all was consumed Polychrome made
a neat bundle of the clothes and boots and gloves and
hat and said she would carry them, while Woot tucked
the Scarecrow's head under his arm and promised to
guard its safety.

"Now, then," said the Tin Woodman, "keep your
promise, Beast, and lift us over the ditch."

"M-m-m-mum, but that was a fine dinner!" said the
Hip-po, smacking his thick lips in satisfaction, "and
I'm as good as my word. Sit on my head, one at a time,
and I'll land you safely on the other side."

He approached close to the edge of the ditch and
squatted down. Polychrome climbed over his big body and
sat herself lightly upon the flat head, holding the
bundle of the Scarecrow's raiment in her hand. Slowly
the elastic neck stretched out until it reached the far
side of the ditch, when the beast lowered his head and
permitted the beautiful fairy to leap to the ground.

Woot made the queer journey next, and then the Tin
Soldier and the Tin Woodman went over, and all were
well pleased to have overcome this serious barrier to
their progress.

"Now, Soldier, cut the hay," said the Scarecrow's
head, which was still held by Woot the Wanderer.

"I'd like to, but I can't stoop over, with my bent
leg, without falling," replied Captain Fyter.

"What can we do about that leg, anyhow?" asked Woot,
appealing to Polychrome.

She danced around in a circle several times without
replying, and the boy feared she had not heard him; but
the Rainbow's Daughter was merely thinking upon the
problem, and presently she paused beside the Tin
Soldier and said:

"I've been taught a little fairy magic, but I've
never before been asked to mend tin legs with it, so
I'm not sure I can help you. It all depends on the good
will of my unseen fairy guardians, so I'll try, and if
I fail, you will be no worse off than you are now."

She danced around the circle again, and then laid
both hands upon the twisted tin leg and sang in her
sweet voice:


"Fairy Powers, come to my aid!

This bent leg of tin is made;

Make it straight and strong and true,

And I'll render thanks to you."


"Ah!" murmured Captain Fyter in a glad voice, as she
withdrew her hands and danced away, and they saw he was
standing straight as ever, because his leg was as
shapely and strong as it had been before his accident.

The Tin Woodman had watched Polychrome with much
interest, and he now said:

"Please take the dent out of my side, Poly, for I am
more crippled than was the Soldier."

So the Rainbow's Daughter touched his side lightly
and sang:


"Here's a dent by accident;
Such a thing was never meant.
Fairy Powers, so wondrous great,
Make our dear Tin Woodman straight!"


"Good!" cried the Emperor, again standing erect and
strutting around to show his fine figure. "Your fairy
magic may not be able to accomplish all things, sweet
Polychrome, but it works splendidly on tin. Thank you
very much."

"The hay -- the hay!" pleaded the Scarecrow's head.

"Oh, yes; the hay," said Woot. "What are you waiting
for, Captain Fyter?"

At once the Tin Soldier set to work cutting hay with
his sword and in a few minutes there was quite enough
with which to stuff the Scarecrow's body. Woot and
Polychrome did this and it was no easy task because the
hay packed together more than straw and as they had
little experience in such work their job, when
completed, left the Scarecrow's arms and legs rather
bunchy. Also there was a hump on his back which made
Woot laugh and say it reminded him of a camel, but it
was the best they could do and when the head was fastened
on to the body they asked the Scarecrow how he felt.

"A little heavy, and not quite natural," he
cheerfully replied; "but I'll get along somehow until
we reach a straw-stack. Don't laugh at me, please,
because I'm a little ashamed of myself and I don't want
to regret a good action."

They started at once in the direction of Mount Munch,
and as the Scarecrow proved very clumsy in his
movements, Woot took one of his arms and the Tin
Woodman the other and so helped their friend to walk in
a straight line.

And the Rainbow's Daughter, as before, danced ahead
of them and behind them and all around them, and they
never minded her odd ways, because to them she was like
a ray of sunshine.




Chapter Twenty

Over Night


The Land of the Munchkins is full of surprises, as our
travelers had already learned, and although Mount Munch
was constantly growing larger as they advanced toward
it, they knew it was still a long way off and were not
certain, by any means, that they had escaped all danger
or encountered their last adventure.

The plain was broad, and as far as the eye could see,
there seemed to be a level stretch of country between
them and the mountain, but toward evening they came
upon a hollow, in which stood a tiny blue Munchkin
dwelling with a garden around it and fields of grain
filling in all the rest of the hollow.

They did not discover this place until they came
close to the edge of it, and they were astonished at
the sight that greeted them because they had imagined
that this part of the plain had no inhabitants.

"It's a very small house," Woot declared. "I wonder
who lives there?"

"The way to find out is to knock on the door and
ask," replied the Tin Woodman. "Perhaps it is the home
of Nimmie Amee."

"Is she a dwarf?" asked the boy.

"No, indeed; Nimmie Amee is a full sized woman."

"Then I'm sure she couldn't live in that little house," said Woot.

"Let's go down," suggested the Scarecrow. "I'm almost
sure I can see a straw-stack in the back yard."

They descended the hollow, which was rather steep at
the sides, and soon came to the house, which was indeed
rather small. Woot knocked upon a door that was not
much higher than his waist, but got no reply. He
knocked again, but not a sound was heard.

"Smoke is coming out of the chimney," announced
Polychrome, who was dancing lightly through the garden,
where cabbages and beets and turnips and the like were
growing finely

"Then someone surely lives here," said Woot, and
knocked again.

Now a window at the side of the house opened and a
queer head appeared. It was white and hairy and had a
long snout and little round eyes. The ears were hidden
by a blue sunbonnet tied under the chin.

"Oh; it's a pig!" exclaimed Woot.

"Pardon me; I am Mrs. Squealina Swyne, wife of
Professor Grunter Swyne, and this is our home," said
the one in the window. "What do you want?"

"What sort of a Professor is your husband?" inquired
the Tin Woodman curiously.

"He is Professor of Cabbage Culture and Corn
Perfection. He is very famous in his own family, and
would be the wonder of the world if he went abroad,"
said Mrs. Swyne in a voice that was half proud and half
irritable. "I must also inform you intruders that the
Professor is a dangerous individual, for he files his
teeth every morning until they are sharp as needles. If
you are butchers, you'd better run away and avoid
trouble."

"We are not butchers," the Tin Woodman assured her.

"Then what are you doing with that axe? And why has
the other tin man a sword?"

"They are the only weapons we have to defend our
friends from their enemies," explained the Emperor of
the Winkies, and Woot added:

"Do not be afraid of us, Mrs. Swyne, for we are
harmless travelers. The tin men and the Scarecrow never
eat anything and Polychrome feasts only on dewdrops. As
for me, I'm rather hungry, but there is plenty of food
in your garden to satisfy me."

Professor Swyne now joined his wife at the window,
looking rather scared in spite of the boy's assuring
speech. He wore a blue Munchkin hat, with pointed crown
and broad brim, and big spectacles covered his eyes. He
peeked around from behind his wife and after looking
hard at the strangers, he said:

"My wisdom assures me that you are merely travelers,
as you say, and not butchers. Butchers have reason to
be afraid of me, but you are safe. We cannot invite you
in, for you are too big for our house, but the boy who
eats is welcome to all the carrots and turnips he
wants. Make yourselves at home in the garden and stay
all night, if you like; but in the morning you must go
away, for we are quiet people and do not care for company."

"May I have some of your straw?" asked the Scarecrow.

"Help yourself," replied Professor Swyne.

"For pigs, they're quite respectable," remarked Woot,
as they all went toward the straw-stack.

"I'm glad they didn't invite us in," said Captain
Fyter. "I hope I'm not too particular about my
associates, but I draw the line at pigs."

The Scarecrow was glad to be rid of his hay, for
during the long walk it had sagged down and made him
fat and squatty and more bumpy than at first.

"I'm not specially proud," he said, "but I love a
manly figure, such as only straw stuffing can create.
I've not felt like myself since that hungry Hip-po ate
my last straw."

Polychrome and Woot set to work removing the hay and
then they selected the finest straw, crisp and golden,
and with it stuffed the Scarecrow anew. He certainly
looked better after the operation, and he was so
pleased at being reformed that he tried to dance a
little jig, and almost succeeded.

"I shall sleep under the straw-stack tonight," Woot
decided, after he had eaten some of the vegetables from
the garden, and in fact he slept very well, with the
two tin men and the Scarecrow sitting silently beside
him and Polychrome away somewhere in the moonlight
dancing her fairy dances.

At daybreak the Tin Woodman and the Tin Soldier took
occasion to polish their bodies and oil their joints,
for both were exceedingly careful of their personal
appearance. They had forgotten the quarrel due to their
accidental bumping of one another in the invisible
country, and being now good friends the Tin Woodman
polished the Tin Soldier's back for him and then the
Tin Soldier polished the Tin Woodman's back.

For breakfast the Wanderer ate crisp lettuce and
radishes, and the Rainbow's Daughter, who had now
returned to her friends, sipped the dewdrops that had
formed on the petals of the wild-flowers.

As they passed the little house to renew their
journey, Woot called out:

"Good-bye, Mr. and Mrs. Swyne!"

The window opened and the two pigs looked out.

"A pleasant journey," said the Professor.

"Have you any children?" asked the Scarecrow, who was
a great friend of children.

"We have nine," answered the Professor; "but they do
not live with us, for when they were tiny piglets the
Wizard of Oz came here and offered to care for them and
to educate them. So we let him have our nine tiny
piglets, for he's a good Wizard and can be relied upon
to keep his promises."

"I know the Nine Tiny Piglets," said the Tin Woodman.

"So do I," said the Scarecrow. "They still live in
the Emerald City, and the Wizard takes good care of
them and teaches them to do all sorts of tricks."

"Did they ever grow up?" inquired Mrs. Squealina
Swyne, in an anxious voice.

"No," answered the Scarecrow; "like all other
children in the Land of Oz, they will always remain
children, and in the case of the tiny piglets that is a
good thing, because they would not be nearly so cute
and cunning if they were bigger."

"But are they happy?" asked Mrs. Swyne.

"Everyone in the Emerald City is happy," said the Tin
Woodman. "They can't help it."

Then the travelers said good-bye, and climbed the
side of the basin that was toward Mount Munch.




Chapter Twenty-One

Polychrome's Magic


On this morning, which ought to be the last of this
important journey, our friends started away as bright
and cheery as could be, and Woot whistled a merry tune
so that Polychrome could dance to the music.

On reaching the top of the hill, the plain spread out
before them in all its beauty of blue grasses and
wildflowers, and Mount Munch seemed much nearer than it
had the previous evening. They trudged on at a brisk
pace, and by noon the mountain was so close that they
could admire its appearance. Its slopes were partly
clothed with pretty evergreens, and its foot-hills were
tufted with a slender waving bluegrass that had a
tassel on the end of every blade. And, for the first
time, they perceived, near the foot of the mountain, a
charming house, not of great size but neatly painted
and with many flowers surrounding it and vines climbing
over the doors and windows.

It was toward this solitary house that our travelers
now directed their steps, thinking to inquire of the
people who lived there where Nimmie Amee might be
found.

There were no paths, but the way was quite open and
clear, and they were drawing near to the dwelling when
Woot the Wanderer, who was then in the lead of the
little party, halted with such an abrupt jerk that he
stumbled over backward and lay flat on his back in the
meadow. The Scarecrow stopped to look at the boy.

"Why did you do that?" he asked in surprise.

Woot sat up and gazed around him in amazement.

"I -- I don't know!" he replied.

The two tin men, arm in arm, started to pass them
when both halted and tumbled, with a great clatter,
into a heap beside Woot. Polychrome, laughing at the
absurd sight, came dancing up and she, also, came to a
sudden stop, but managed to save herself from falling.

Everyone of them was much astonished, and the
Scarecrow said with a puzzled look:

"I don't see anything."

"Nor I," said Woot; "but something hit me, just the
same."

"Some invisible person struck me a heavy blow,"
declared the Tin Woodman, struggling to separate
himself from the Tin Soldier, whose legs and arms were
mixed with his own.

"I'm not sure it was a person," said Polychrome,
looking more grave than usual. "It seems to me that I
merely ran into some hard substance which barred my way.
In order to make sure of this, let me try another place."

She ran back a way and then with much caution
advanced in a different place, but when she reached a
position on a line with the others she halted, her arms
outstretched before her.

"I can feel something hard - something smooth as
glass," she said, "but I'm sure it is not glass."

"Let me try," suggested Woot, getting up; but when he
tried to go forward, he discovered the same barrier
that Polychrome had encountered.

"No," he said, "it isn't glass. But what is it?"

"Air," replied a small voice beside him. "Solid air;
that's all."

They all looked downward and found a sky-blue rabbit
had stuck his head out of a burrow in the ground. The
rabbit's eyes were a deeper blue than his fur, and the
pretty creature seemed friendly and unafraid.

"Air!" exclaimed Woot, staring in astonishment into
the rabbit's blue eyes; "whoever heard of air so solid
that one cannot push it aside?"

"You can't push this air aside," declared the rabbit,
"for it was made hard by powerful sorcery, and it forms
a wall that is intended to keep people from getting to
that house yonder."

"Oh; it's a wall, is it?" said the Tin Woodman.

"Yes, it is really a wall," answered the rabbit, "and
it is fully six feet thick."

"How high is it?" inquired Captain Fyter, the Tin
Soldier.

"Oh, ever so high; perhaps a mile," said the rabbit.

"Couldn't we go around it?" asked Woot.

"Of course, for the wall is a circle," explained the
rabbit. "In the center of the circle stands the house,
so you may walk around the Wall of Solid Air, but you
can't get to the house."

"Who put the air wall around the house?" was the
Scarecrow's question.

"Nimmie Amee did that."

"Nimmie Amee!" they all exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes," answered the rabbit. "She used to live with an
old Witch, who was suddenly destroyed, and when Nimmie
Amee ran away from the Witch's house, she took with her
just one magic formula --pure sorcery it was -- which
enabled her to build this air wall around her house --
the house yonder. It was quite a clever idea, I think,
for it doesn't mar the beauty of the landscape, solid
air being invisible, and yet it keeps all strangers
away from the house."

"Does Nimmie Amee live there now?" asked the Tin
Woodman anxiously.

"Yes, indeed," said the rabbit.

"And does she weep and wail from morning till night?"
continued the Emperor.

"No; she seems quite happy," asserted the rabbit.

The Tin Woodman seemed quite disappointed to hear
this report of his old sweetheart, but the Scarecrow
reassured his friend, saying:

"Never mind, your Majesty; however happy Nimmie Amee
is now, I'm sure she will be much happier as Empress of
the Winkies."

"Perhaps," said Captain Fyter, somewhat stiffly, "she
will be still more happy to become the bride of a Tin
Soldier."

"She shall choose between us, as we have agreed," the
Tin Woodman promised; "but how shall we get to the poor
girl?"

Polychrome, although dancing lightly back and forth,
had listened to every word of the conversation. Now she
came forward and sat herself down just in front of the
Blue Rabbit, her many-hued draperies giving her the
appearance of some beautiful flower. The rabbit didn't
back away an inch. Instead, he gazed at the Rainbow's
Daughter admiringly.

"Does your burrow go underneath this Wall of Air?"
asked Polychrome.

"To be sure," answered the Blue Rabbit; "I dug it
that way so I could roam in these broad fields, by
going out one way, or eat the cabbages in Nimmie Amee's
garden by leaving my burrow at the other end. I don't
think Nimmie Amee ought to mind the little I take from
her garden, or the hole I've made under her magic wall.
A rabbit may go and come as he pleases, but no one who
is bigger than I am could get through my burrow."

"Will you allow us to pass through it, if we are able
to? " inquired Polychrome.

"Yes, indeed," answered the Blue Rabbit. "I'm no
especial friend of Nimmie Amee, for once she threw
stones at me, just because I was nibbling some lettuce,
and only yesterday she yelled 'Shoo!' at me, which made
me nervous. You're welcome to use my burrow in any way
you choose."

"But this is all nonsense!" declared Woot the
Wanderer. "We are every one too big to crawl through a
rabbit's burrow."

"We are too big now," agreed the Scarecrow, "but you
must remember that Polychrome is a fairy, and fairies
have many magic powers."

Woot's face brightened as he turned to the lovely
Daughter of the Rainbow.

"Could you make us all as small as that rabbit?" he
asked eagerly.

"I can try," answered Polychrome, with a smile. And
presently she did it -- so easily that Woot was not the
only one astonished. As the now tiny people grouped
themselves before the rabbit's burrow the hole appeared
to them like the entrance to a tunnel, which indeed it
was.

"I'll go first," said wee Polychrome, who had made
herself grow as small as the others, and into the
tunnel she danced without hesitation. A tiny Scarecrow
went next and then the two funny little tin men.

"Walk in; it's your turn," said the Blue Rabbit to
Woot the Wanderer. "I'm coming after, to see how you
get along. This will be a regular surprise party to
Nimmie Amee."

So Woot entered the hole and felt his way along its
smooth sides in the dark until he finally saw the
glimmer of daylight ahead and knew the journey was
almost over. Had he remained his natural size, the
distance could have been covered in a few steps, but to
a thumb-high Woot it was quite a promenade. When he
emerged from the burrow he found himself but a short
distance from the house, in the center of the vegetable
garden, where the leaves of rhubarb waving above his
head seemed like trees. Outside the hole, and waiting
for him, he found all his friends.

"So far, so good!" remarked the Scarecrow cheerfully.

"Yes; so far, but no farther," returned the Tin
Woodman in a plaintive and disturbed tone of voice. "I
am now close to Nimmie Amee, whom I have come ever so
far to seek, but I cannot ask the girl to marry such a
little man as I am now."

"I'm no bigger than a toy soldier!" said Captain
Fyter, sorrowfully. "Unless Polychrome can make us big
again, there is little use in our visiting Nimmie Amee
at all, for I'm sure she wouldn't care for a husband
she might carelessly step on and ruin."

Polychrome laughed merrily.

"If I make you big, you can't get out of here again,"
said she, "and if you remain little Nimmie Amee will
laugh at you. So make your choice."

"I think we'd better go back," said Woot seriously

"No," said the Tin Woodman, stoutly, "I have decided
that it's my duty to make Nimmie Amee happy, in case
she wishes to marry me."

"So have I," announced Captain Fyter. "A good soldier
never shrinks from doing his duty."

"As for that," said the Scarecrow, "tin doesn't
shrink any to speak of, under any circumstances. But
Woot and I intend to stick to our comrades, whatever
they decide to do, so we will ask Polychrome to make us
as big as we were before."

Polychrome agreed to this request and in half a
minute all of them, including herself, had been
enlarged again to their natural sizes. They then
thanked the Blue Rabbit for his kind assistance, and at
once approached the house of Nimme Amee.




Chapter Twenty-Two

Nimmie Amee


We may be sure that at this moment our friends were all
anxious to see the end of the adventure that had caused
them so many trials and troubles. Perhaps the Tin
Woodman's heart did not beat any faster, because it was
made of red velvet and stuffed with sawdust, and the
Tin Soldier's heart was made of tin and reposed in his
tin bosom without a hint of emotion. However, there is
little doubt that they both knew that a critical moment
in their lives had arrived, and that Nimmie Amee's
decision was destined to influence the future of one or
the other.

As they assumed their natural sizes and the rhubarb
leaves that had before towered above their heads now
barely covered their feet, they looked around the
garden and found that no person was visible save
themselves. No sound of activity came from the house,
either, but they walked to the front door, which had a
little porch built before it, and there the two tinmen
stood side by side while both knocked upon the door
with their tin knuckles.

As no one seemed eager to answer the summons they
knocked again; and then again. Finally they heard a
stir from within and someone coughed.

"Who's there?" called a girl's voice.

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