The Tin Woodman of Oz
by
L. Frank Baum
Part 1 out of 4
THE TIN WOODMAN OF OZ
A Faithful Story of the Astonishing Adventure
Undertaken by the Tin Woodman, assisted
by Woot the Wanderer, the Scarecrow
of Oz, and Polychrome, the
Rainbow's Daughter
by
L. FRANK BAUM
"Royal historian of Oz"
This Book
is dedicated
to the son of
my son
Frank Alden Baum
TO MY READERS
I know that some of you have been waiting for this
story of the Tin Woodman, because many of my
correspondents have asked me, time and again what ever
became of the "pretty Munchkin girl" whom Nick Chopper
was engaged to marry before the Wicked Witch enchanted
his axe and he traded his flesh for tin. I, too, have
wondered what became of her, but until Woot the
Wanderer interested himself in the matter the Tin
Woodman knew no more than we did. However, he found
her, after many thrilling adventures, as you will
discover when you have read this story.
I am delighted at the continued interest of both
young and old in the Oz stories. A learned college
professor recently wrote me to ask: "For readers of
what age are your books intended?" It puzzled me to
answer that properly, until I had looked over some of
the letters I have received. One says: "I'm a little
boy 5 years old, and I Just love your Oz stories. My
sister, who is writing this for me, reads me the Oz
books, but I wish I could read them myself." Another
letter says: "I'm a great girl 13 years old, so you'll
be surprised when I tell you I am not too old yet for
the Oz stories." Here's another letter: "Since I was a
young girl I've never missed getting a Baum book for
Christmas. I'm married, now, but am as eager to get and
read the Oz stories as ever." And still another writes:
"My good wife and I, both more than 70 years of age,
believe that we find more real enjoyment in your Oz
books than in any other books we read." Considering
these statements, I wrote the college professor that my
books are intended for all those whose hearts are
young, no matter what their ages may be.
I think I am justified in promising that there will
be some astonishing revelations about The Magic of Oz
in my book for 1919. Always your loving and grateful
friend,
L. FRANK BAUM.
Royal Historian of Oz.
"OZCOT"
at HOLLYWOOD
in CALIFORNIA
1918.
LIST OF CHAPTERS
1 Woot the Wanderer
2 The Heart of the Tin Woodman
3 Roundabout
4 The Loons of Loonville
5 Mrs. Yoop, the Giantess
6 The Magic of a Yookoohoo
7 The Lace Apron
8 The Menace of the Forest
9 The Quarrelsome Dragons
10 Tommy Kwikstep
11 Jinjur's Ranch
12 Ozma and Dorothy
13 The Restoration
14 The Green Monkey
15 The Man of Tin
16 Captain Fyter
17 The Workshop of Ku-Klip
18 The Tin Woodman Talks to Himself
19 The Invisible Country
20 Over Night
21 Polychrome's Magic
22 Nimmie Amee
23 Through the Tunnel
24 The Curtain Falls
Chapter One
Woot the Wanderer
The Tin Woodman sat on his glittering tin throne in the
handsome tin hall of his splendid tin castle in the
Winkie Country of the Land of Oz. Beside him, in a
chair of woven straw, sat his best friend, the
Scarecrow of Oz. At times they spoke to one another of
curious things they had seen and strange adventures
they had known since first they two had met and become
comrades. But at times they were silent, for these
things had been talked over many times between them,
and they found themselves contented in merely being
together, speaking now and then a brief sentence to
prove they were wide awake and attentive. But then,
these two quaint persons never slept. Why should they
sleep, when they never tired?
And now, as the brilliant sun sank low over the Winkie
Country of Oz, tinting the glistening tin towers and
tin minarets of the tin castle with glorious sunset
hues, there approached along a winding pathway Woot the
Wanderer, who met at the castle entrance a Winkie
servant.
The servants of the Tin Woodman all wore tin helmets
and tin breastplates and uniforms covered with tiny tin
discs sewed closely together on silver cloth, so that
their bodies sparkled as beautifully as did the tin
castle -- and almost as beautifully as did the Tin
Woodman himself.
Woot the Wanderer looked at the man servant --all
bright and glittering -- and at the magnificent castle
-- all bright and glittering -- and as he looked his
eyes grew big with wonder. For Woot was not very big
and not very old and, wanderer though he was, this
proved the most gorgeous sight that had ever met his
boyish gaze.
"Who lives here?" he asked.
"The Emperor of the Winkies, who is the famous Tin
Woodman of Oz," replied the servant, who had been
trained to treat all strangers with courtesy.
"A Tin Woodman? How queer!" exclaimed the little
wanderer.
"Well, perhaps our Emperor is queer," admitted the
servant; "but he is a kind master and as honest and
true as good tin can make him; so we, who gladly serve
him, are apt to forget that he is not like other
people."
"May I see him?" asked Woot the Wanderer, after a
moment's thought.
"If it please you to wait a moment, I will go and ask
him," said the servant, and then he went into the hall
where the Tin Woodman sat with his friend the
Scarecrow. Both were glad to learn that a stranger had
arrived at the castle, for this would give them
something new to talk about, so the servant was asked
to admit the boy at once.
By the time Woot the Wanderer had passed through the
grand corridors -- all lined with ornamental tin -- and
under stately tin archways and through the many tin
rooms all set with beautiful tin furniture, his eyes
had grown bigger than ever and his whole little body
thrilled with amazement. But, astonished though he was,
he was able to make a polite bow before the throne and
to say in a respectful voice: "I salute your
Illustrious Majesty and offer you my humble services."
"Very good!" answered the Tin Woodman in his
accustomed cheerful manner. "Tell me who you are, and
whence you come."
"I am known as Woot the Wanderer," answered the boy,
"and I have come, through many travels and by
roundabout ways, from my former home in a far corner of
the Gillikin Country of Oz."
"To wander from one's home," remarked the Scarecrow,
"is to encounter dangers and hardships, especially if
one is made of meat and bone. Had you no friends in
that corner of the Gillikin Country? Was it not
homelike and comfortable?"
To hear a man stuffed with straw speak, and speak so
well, quite startled Woot, and perhaps he stared a bit
rudely at the Scarecrow. But after a moment he replied:
"I had home and friends, your Honorable Strawness,
but they were so quiet and happy and comfortable that I
found them dismally stupid. Nothing in that corner of
Oz interested me, but I believed that in other parts of
the country I would find strange people and see new
sights, and so I set out upon my wandering journey. I
have been a wanderer for nearly a full year, and now my
wanderings have brought me to this splendid castle."
"I suppose," said the Tin Woodman, "that in this year
you have seen so much that you have become very wise."
"No," replied Woot, thoughtfully, "I am not at all
wise, I beg to assure your Majesty. The more I wander
the less I find that I know, for in the Land of Oz much
wisdom and many things may be learned."
"To learn is simple. Don't you ask questions?"
inquired the Scarecrow.
"Yes; I ask as many questions as I dare; but some
people refuse to answer questions."
"That is not kind of them," declared the Tin Woodman.
"If one does not ask for information he seldom receives
it; so I, for my part, make it a rule to answer any
civil question that is asked me."
"So do I," added the Scarecrow, nodding.
"I am glad to hear this," said the Wanderer, "for it
makes me bold to ask for something to eat."
"Bless the boy!" cried the Emperor of the Winkies;
"how careless of me not to remember that wanderers are
usually hungry. I will have food brought you at once."
Saying this he blew upon a tin whistle that was
suspended from his tin neck, and at the summons a
servant appeared and bowed low. The Tin Woodman
ordered food for the stranger, and in a few minutes the
servant brought in a tin tray heaped with a choice
array of good things to eat, all neatly displayed on
tin dishes that were polished till they shone like
mirrors. The tray was set upon a tin table drawn
before the throne, and the servant placed a tin chair
before the table for the boy to seat himself.
"Eat, friend Wanderer," said the Emperor cordially,
"and I trust the feast will be to your liking. I,
myself, do not eat, being made in such manner that I
require no food to keep me alive. Neither does my
friend the Scarecrow. But all my Winkie people eat,
being formed of flesh, as you are, and so my tin
cupboard is never bare, and strangers are always
welcome to whatever it contains."
The boy ate in silence for a time, being really
hungry, but after his appetite was somewhat satisfied,
he said:
"How happened your Majesty to be made of tin, and
still be alive?"
"That," replied the tin man, "is a long story."
"The longer the better," said the boy. "Won't you
please tell me the story?"
"If you desire it," promised the Tin Woodman, leaning
back in his tin throne and crossing his tin legs. "I
haven't related my history in a long while, because
everyone here knows it nearly as well as I do. But you,
being a stranger, are no doubt curious to learn how I
became so beautiful and prosperous, so I will recite
for your benefit my strange adventures."
"Thank you," said Woot the Wanderer, still eating.
"I was not always made of tin," began the Emperor,
"for in the beginning I was a man of flesh and bone and
blood and lived in the Munchkin Country of Oz. There I
was, by trade, a woodchopper, and contributed my share
to the comfort of the Oz people by chopping up the
trees of the forest to make firewood, with which the
women would cook their meals while the children warmed
themselves about the fires. For my home I had a little
hut by the edge of the forest, and my life was one of
much content until I fell in love with a beautiful
Munchkin girl who lived not far away."
"What was the Munchkin girl's name?" asked Woot.
"Nimmie Amee. This girl, so fair that the sunsets
blushed when their rays fell upon her, lived with a
powerful witch who wore silver shoes and who had made
the poor child her slave. Nimmie Amee was obliged to
work from morning till night for the old Witch of the
East, scrubbing and sweeping her hut and cooking her
meals and washing her dishes. She had to cut firewood,
too, until I found her one day in the forest and fell
in love with her. After that, I always brought plenty
of firewood to Nimmie Amee and we became very friendly.
Finally I asked her to marry me, and she agreed to do
so, but the Witch happened to overhear our conversation
and it made her very angry, for she did not wish her
slave to be taken away from her. The Witch commanded me
never to come near Nimmie Amee again, but I told her I
was my own master and would do as I pleased, not
realizing that this was a careless way to speak to a
Witch.
"The next day, as I was cutting wood in the forest,
the cruel Witch enchanted my axe, so that it slipped
and cut off my right leg."
"How dreadful!" cried Woot the Wanderer.
"Yes, it was a seeming misfortune," agreed the Tin
Man, "for a one-legged woodchopper is of little use in
his trade. But I would not allow the Witch to conquer
me so easily. I knew a very skillful mechanic at the
other side of the forest, who was my friend, so I
hopped on one leg to him and asked him to help me. He
soon made me a new leg out of tin and fastened it
cleverly to my meat body. It had joints at the knee and
at the ankle and was almost as comfortable as the leg I
had lost."
"Your friend must have been a wonderful workman!"
exclaimed Woot.
"He was, indeed," admitted the Emperor. "He was a
tinsmith by trade and could make anything out of tin.
When I returned to Nimmie Amee, the girl was delighted
and threw her arms around my neck and kissed me,
declaring she was proud of me. The Witch saw the kiss
and was more angry than before. When I went to work in
the forest, next day, my axe, being still enchanted,
slipped and cut off my other leg. Again I hopped -- on
my tin leg -- to my friend the tinsmith, who kindly
made me another tin leg and fastened it to my body. So
I returned joyfully to Nimmie Amee, who was much
pleased with my glittering legs and promised that when
we were wed she would always keep them oiled and
polished. But the Witch was more furious than ever, and
as soon as I raised my axe to chop, it twisted around
and cut off one of my arms. The tinsmith made me a tin
arm and I was not much worried, because Nimmie Amee
declared she still loved me."
Chapter Two
The Heart of the Tin Woodman
The Emperor of the Winkies paused in his story to
reach for an oil-can, with which he carefully oiled the
joints in his tin throat, for his voice had begun to
squeak a little. Woot the Wanderer, having satisfied
his hunger, watched this oiling process with much
curiosity, but begged the Tin Man to go on with his
tale.
"The Witch with the Silver Shoes hated me for having
defied her," resumed the Emperor, his voice now
sounding clear as a bell, "and she insisted that Nimmie
Amee should never marry me. Therefore she made the
enchanted axe cut off my other arm, and the tinsmith
also replaced that member with tin, including these
finely-jointed hands that you see me using. But, alas!
after that, the axe, still enchanted by the cruel
Witch, cut my body in two, so that I fell to the
ground. Then the Witch, who was watching from a near-by
bush, rushed up and seized the axe and chopped my body
into several small pieces, after which, thinking that
at last she had destroyed me, she ran away laughing in
wicked glee.
"But Nimmie Amee found me. She picked up my arms and
legs and head, and made a bundle of them and carried
them to the tinsmith, who set to work and made me a
fine body of pure tin. When he had joined the arms and
legs to the body, and set my head in the tin collar, I
was a much better man than ever, for my body could not
ache or pain me, and I was so beautiful and bright that
I had no need of clothing. Clothing is always a
nuisance, because it soils and tears and has to be
replaced; but my tin body only needs to be oiled and
polished.
"Nimmie Amee still declared she would marry me, as
she still loved me in spite of the Witch's evil deeds.
The girl declared I would make the brightest husband in
all the world, which was quite true. However, the
Wicked Witch was not yet defeated. When I returned to
my work the axe slipped and cut off my head, which was
the only meat part of me then remaining. Moreover, the
old woman grabbed up my severed head and carried it
away with her and hid it. But Nimmie Amee came into the
forest and found me wandering around helplessly,
because I could not see where to go, and she led me to
my friend the tinsmith. The faithful fellow at once set
to work to make me a tin head, and he had just
completed it when Nimmie Amee came running up with my
old head, which she had stolen from the Witch. But, on
reflection, I considered the tin head far superior to
the meat one -- I am wearing it yet, so you can see its
beauty and grace of outline -- and the girl agreed with
me that a man all made of tin was far more perfect than
one formed of different materials. The tinsmith was as
proud of his workmanship as I was, and for three whole
days, all admired me and praised my beauty. "Being now
completely formed of tin, I had no more fear of the
Wicked Witch, for she was powerless to injure me.
Nimmie Amee said we must be married at once, for then
she could come to my cottage and live with me and keep
me bright and sparkling.
"'I am sure, my dear Nick,' said the brave and
beautiful girl -- my name was then Nick Chopper, you
should be told -- 'that you will make the best husband
any girl could have. I shall not be obliged to cook for
you, for now you do not eat; I shall not have to make
your bed, for tin does not tire or require sleep; when
we go to a dance, you will not get weary before the
music stops and say you want to go home. All day long,
while you are chopping wood in the forest, I shall be
able to amuse myself in my own way -- a privilege few
wives enjoy. There is no temper in your new head, so
you will not get angry with me. Finally, I shall take
pride in being the wife of the only live Tin Woodman in
all the world!' Which shows that Nimmie Amee was as
wise as she was brave and beautiful."
"I think she was a very nice girl," said Woot the
Wanderer. "But, tell me, please, why were you not
killed when you were chopped to pieces?"
"In the Land of Oz," replied the Emperor, "no one can
ever be killed. A man with a wooden leg or a tin leg is
still the same man; and, as I lost parts of my meat
body by degrees, I always remained the same person as
in the beginning, even though in the end I was all tin
and no meat."
"I see," said the boy, thoughtfully. "And did you
marry Nimmie Amee?"
"No," answered the Tin Woodman, "I did not. She said
she still loved me, but I found that I no longer loved
her. My tin body contained no heart, and without a
heart no one can love. So the Wicked Witch conquered in
the end, and when I left the Munchkin Country of Oz,
the poor girl was still the slave of the Witch and had
to do her bidding day and night."
"Where did you go?" asked Woot.
"Well, I first started out to find a heart, so I
could love Nimmie Amee again; but hearts are more
scarce than one would think. One day, in a big forest
that was strange to me, my joints suddenly became
rusted, because I had forgotten to oil them. There I
stood, unable to move hand or foot. And there I
continued to stand -- while days came and went -- until
Dorothy and the Scarecrow came along and rescued me.
They oiled my joints and set me free, and I've taken
good care never to rust again."
"Who was this Dorothy?" questioned the Wanderer.
"A little girl who happened to be in a house when it
was carried by a cyclone all the way from Kansas to the
Land of Oz. When the house fell, in the Munchkin
Country, it fortunately landed on the Wicked Witch and
smashed her flat. It was a big house, and I think the
Witch is under it yet."
"No," said the Scarecrow, correcting him, "Dorothy
says the Witch turned to dust, and the wind scattered
the dust in every direction."
"Well," continued the Tin Woodman, "after meeting the
Scarecrow and Dorothy, I went with them to the Emerald
City, where the Wizard of Oz gave me a heart. But the
Wizard's stock of hearts was low, and he gave me a Kind
Heart instead of a Loving Heart, so that I could not
love Nimmie Amee any more than I did when I was
heartless."
"Couldn't the Wizard give you a heart that was both
Kind and Loving?" asked the boy.
"No; that was what I asked for, but he said he was so
short on hearts, just then, that there was but one in
stock, and I could take that or none at all. So I
accepted it, and I must say that for its kind it is a
very good heart indeed."
"It seems to me," said Woot, musingly, "that the
Wizard fooled you. It can't be a very Kind Heart, you
know."
"Why not?" demanded the Emperor.
"Because it was unkind of you to desert the girl who
loved you, and who had been faithful and true to you
when you were in trouble. Had the heart the Wizard gave
you been a Kind Heart, you would have gone back home
and made the beautiful Munchkin girl your wife, and
then brought her here to be an Empress and live in your
splendid tin castle."
The Tin Woodman was so surprised at this frank speech
that for a time he did nothing but stare hard at the
boy Wanderer. But the Scarecrow wagged his stuffed head
and said in a positive tone:
"This boy is right. I've often wondered, myself, why
you didn't go back and find that poor Munchkin girl."
Then the Tin Woodman stared hard at his friend the
Scarecrow. But finally he said in a serious tone of
voice:
"I must admit that never before have I thought of
such a thing as finding Nimmie Amee and making her
Empress of the Winkies. But it is surely not too late,
even now, to do this, for the girl must still be living
in the Munchkin Country. And, since this strange
Wanderer has reminded me of Nimmie Amee, I believe it
is my duty to set out and find her. Surely it is not
the girl's fault that I no longer love her, and so, if
I can make her happy, it is proper that I should do so,
and in this way reward her for her faithfulness."
"Quite right, my friend!" agreed the Scarecrow.
"Will you accompany me on this errand?" asked the Tin
Emperor.
"Of course," said the Scarecrow.
"And will you take me along?" pleaded Woot the
Wanderer in an eager voice.
"To be sure," said the Tin Woodman, "if you care to
join our party. It was you who first told me it was my
duty to find and marry Nimmie Amee, and I'd like you to
know that Nick Chopper, the Tin Emperor of the Winkies,
is a man who never shirks his duty, once it is pointed
out to him."
"It ought to be a pleasure, as well as a duty, if the
girl is so beautiful," said Woot, well pleased with the
idea of the adventure.
"Beautiful things may be admired, if not loved,"
asserted the Tin Man. "Flowers are beautiful, for
instance, but we are not inclined to marry them. Duty,
on the contrary, is a bugle call to action, whether you
are inclined to act, or not. In this case, I obey the
bugle call of duty."
"When shall we start?" inquired the Scarecrow, who
was always glad to embark upon a new adventure. "I
don't hear any bugle, but when do we go?"
"As soon as we can get ready," answered the Emperor.
"I'll call my servants at once and order them to make
preparations for our journey."
Chapter Three
Roundabout
Woot the Wanderer slept that night in the tin castle of
the Emperor of the Winkies and found his tin bed quite
comfortable. Early the next morning he rose and took a
walk through the gardens, where there were tin
fountains and beds of curious tin flowers, and where
tin birds perched upon the branches of tin trees and
sang songs that sounded like the notes of tin whistles.
All these wonders had been made by the clever Winkie
tinsmiths, who wound the birds up every morning so that
they would move about and sing.
After breakfast the boy went into the throne room,
where the Emperor was having his tin joints carefully
oiled by a servant, while other servants were stuffing
sweet, fresh straw into the body of the Scarecrow.
Woot watched this operation with much interest, for
the Scarecrow's body was only a suit of clothes filled
with straw. The coat was buttoned tight to keep the
packed straw from falling out and a rope was tied
around the waist to hold it in shape and prevent the
straw from sagging down. The Scarecrow's head was a
gunnysack filled with bran, on which the eyes, nose and
mouth had been painted. His hands were white cotton
gloves stuffed with fine straw. Woot noticed that even
when carefully stuffed and patted into shape, the straw
man was awkward in his movements and decidedly wobbly
on his feet, so the boy wondered if the Scarecrow would
be able to travel with them all the way to the forests
of the Munchkin Country of Oz.
The preparations made for this important journey were
very simple. A knapsack was filled with food and given
Woot the Wanderer to carry upon his back, for the food
was for his use alone. The Tin Woodman shouldered an
axe which was sharp and brightly polished, and the
Scarecrow put the Emperor's oil-can in his pocket, that
he might oil his friend's joints should they need it.
"Who will govern the Winkie Country during your
absence?" asked the boy.
"Why, the Country will run itself," answered the
Emperor. "As a matter of fact, my people do not need an
Emperor, for Ozma of Oz watches over the welfare of all
her subjects, including the Winkies. Like a good many
kings and emperors, I have a grand title, but very
little real power, which allows me time to amuse myself
in my own way. The people of Oz have but one law to
obey, which is: 'Behave Yourself,' so it is easy for
them to abide by this Law, and you'll notice they
behave very well. But it is time for us to be off, and
I am eager to start because I suppose that that poor
Munchkin girl is anxiously awaiting my coming."
"She's waited a long time already, seems to me,"
remarked the Scarecrow, as they left the grounds of the
castle and followed a path that led eastward.
"True," replied the Tin Woodman; "but I've noticed
that the last end of a wait, however long it has been,
is the hardest to endure; so I must try to make Nimmie
Amee happy as soon as possible."
"Ah; that proves you have a Kind heart," remarked the
Scarecrow, approvingly.
"It's too bad he hasn't a Loving Heart," said Woot.
"This Tin Man is going to marry a nice girl through
kindness, and not because he loves her, and somehow
that doesn't seem quite right."
"Even so, I am not sure it isn't best for the girl,"
said the Scarecrow, who seemed very intelligent for a
straw man, "for a loving husband is not always kind,
while a kind husband is sure to make any girl content."
"Nimmie Amee will become an Empress!" announced the
Tin Woodman, proudly. "I shall have a tin gown made for
her, with tin ruffles and tucks on it, and she shall
have tin slippers, and tin earrings and bracelets, and
wear a tin crown on her head. I am sure that will
delight Nimmie Amee, for all girls are fond of finery."
"Are we going to the Munchkin Country by way of the
Emerald City?" inquired the Scarecrow, who looked upon
the Tin Woodman as the leader of the party.
"I think not," was the reply. "We are engaged upon a
rather delicate adventure, for we are seeking a girl
who fears her former lover has forgotten her. It will
be rather hard for me, you must admit, when I confess
to Nimmie Amee that I have come to marry her because it
is my duty to do so, and therefore the fewer witnesses
there are to our meeting the better for both of us.
After I have found Nimmie Amee and she has managed to
control her joy at our reunion, I shall take her to the
Emerald City and introduce her to Ozma and Dorothy, and
to Betsy Bobbin and Tiny Trot, and all our other
friends; but, if I remember rightly, poor Nimmie Amee
has a sharp tongue when angry, and she may be a trifle
angry with me, at first, because I have been so long in
coming to her."
"I can understand that," said Woot gravely. "But how
can we get to that part of the Munchkin Country where
you once lived without passing through the Emerald
City?"
"Why, that is easy," the Tin Man assured him.
"I have a map of Oz in my pocket," persisted the boy,
"and it shows that the Winkie Country, where we now
are, is at the west of Oz, and the Munchkin Country at
the east, while directly between them lies the Emerald
City."
"True enough; but we shall go toward the north, first
of all, into the Gillikin Country, and so pass around
the Emerald City," explained the Tin Woodman.
"That may prove a dangerous journey," replied the
boy. "I used to live in one of the top corners of the
Gillikin Country, near to Oogaboo, and I have been told
that in this northland country are many people whom it
is not pleasant to meet. I was very careful to avoid
them during my journey south."
"A Wanderer should have no fear," observed the
Scarecrow, who was wobbling along in a funny, haphazard
manner, but keeping pace with his friends.
"Fear does not make one a coward," returned Woot,
growing a little red in the face, "but I believe it is
more easy to avoid danger than to overcome it. The
safest way is the best way, even for one who is brave
and determined."
"Do not worry, for we shall not go far to the north,"
said the Emperor. "My one idea is to avoid the Emerald
City without going out of our way more than is
necessary. Once around the Emerald City we will turn
south into the Munchkin Country, where the Scarecrow
and I are well acquainted and have many friends."
"I have traveled some in the Gillikin Country,"
remarked the Scarecrow, "and while I must say I have
met some strange people there at times, I have never
yet been harmed by them."
"Well, it's all the same to me," said Woot, with
assumed carelessness. "Dangers, when they cannot be
avoided, are often quite interesting, and I am willing
to go wherever you two venture to go."
So they left the path they had been following and
began to travel toward the northeast, and all that day
they were in the pleasant Winkie Country, and all the
people they met saluted the Emperor with great respect
and wished him good luck on his journey. At night they
stopped at a house where they were well entertained and
where Woot was given a comfortable bed to sleep in.
"Were the Scarecrow and I alone," said the Tin
Woodman, "we would travel by night as well as by day;
but with a meat person in our party, we must halt at
night to permit him to rest."
"Meat tires, after a day's travel," added the
Scarecrow, "while straw and tin never tire at all.
Which proves," said he, "that we are somewhat superior
to people made in the common way."
Woot could not deny that he was tired, and he slept
soundly until morning, when he was given a good
breakfast, smoking hot.
"You two miss a great deal by not eating," he said to
his companions.
"It is true," responded the Scarecrow. "We miss
suffering from hunger, when food cannot be had, and we
miss a stomachache, now and then."
As he said this, the Scarecrow glanced at the Tin
Woodman, who nodded his assent.
All that second day they traveled steadily,
entertaining one another the while with stories of
adventures they had formerly met and listening to the
Scarecrow recite poetry. He had learned a great many
poems from Professor Wogglebug and loved to repeat them
whenever anybody would listen to him. Of course Woot
and the Tin Woodman now listened, because they could
not do otherwise -- unless they rudely ran away from
their stuffed comrade. One of the Scarecrow's
recitations was like this:
"What sound is so sweet
As the straw from the wheat
When it crunkles so tender and low?
It is yellow and bright,
So it gives me delight
To crunkle wherever I go.
"Sweet, fresh, golden Straw!
There is surely no flaw
In a stuffing so clean and compact.
It creaks when I walk,
And it thrills when I talk,
And its fragrance is fine, for a fact.
"To cut me don't hurt,
For I've no blood to squirt,
And I therefore can suffer no pain;
The straw that I use
Doesn't lump up or bruise,
Though it's pounded again and again!
"I know it is said
That my beautiful head
Has brains of mixed wheat-straw and bran,
But my thoughts are so good
I'd not change, if I could,
For the brains of a common meat man.
"Content with my lot,
I'm glad that I'm not
Like others I meet day by day;
If my insides get musty,
Or mussed-up, or dusty,
I get newly stuffed right away."
Chapter Four
The Loons of Loonville
Toward evening, the travelers found there was no longer
a path to guide them, and the purple hues of the grass
and trees warned them that they were now in the Country
of the Gillikins, where strange peoples dwelt in places
that were quite unknown to the other inhabitants of Oz.
The fields were wild and uncultivated and there were no
houses of any sort to be seen. But our friends kept on
walking even after the sun went down, hoping to find a
good place for Woot the Wanderer to sleep; but when it
grew quite dark and the boy was weary with his long
walk, they halted right in the middle of a field and
allowed Woot to get his supper from the food he carried
in his knapsack. Then the Scarecrow laid himself down,
so that Woot could use his stuffed body as a pillow,
and the Tin Woodman stood up beside them all night, so
the dampness of the ground might not rust his joints or
dull his brilliant polish. Whenever the dew settled on
his body he carefully wiped it off with a cloth, and so
in the morning the Emperor shone as brightly as ever in
the rays of the rising sun.
They wakened the boy at daybreak, the Scarecrow
saying to him:
"We have discovered something queer, and therefore we
must counsel together what to do about it."
"What have you discovered?" asked Woot, rubbing the
sleep from his eyes with his knuckles and giving three
wide yawns to prove he was fully awake.
"A Sign," said the Tin Woodman. "A Sign, and another path."
"What does the Sign say?" inquired the boy.
"It says that 'All Strangers are Warned not to Follow
this Path to Loonville,'" answered the Scarecrow, who
could read very well when his eyes had been freshly
painted.
"In that case," said the boy, opening his knapsack to
get some breakfast, "let us travel in some other
direction."
But this did not seem to please either of his
companions.
"I'd like to see what Loonville looks like," remarked
the Tin Woodman.
"When one travels, it is foolish to miss any
interesting sight," added the Scarecrow.
"But a warning means danger," protested Woot the
Wanderer, "and I believe it sensible to keep out of
danger whenever we can."
They made no reply to this speech for a while. Then
said the Scarecrow:
"I have escaped so many dangers, during my lifetime,
that I am not much afraid of anything that can happen."
"Nor am I!" exclaimed the Tin Woodman, swinging his
glittering axe around his tin head, in a series of
circles. "Few things can injure tin, and my axe is a
powerful weapon to use against a foe. But our boy
friend," he continued, looking solemnly at Woot, "might
perhaps be injured if the people of Loonville are
really dangerous; so I propose he waits here while you
and I, Friend Scarecrow, visit the forbidden City of
Loonville."
"Don't worry about me," advised Woot, calmly.
"Wherever you wish to go, I will go, and share your
dangers. During my wanderings I have found it more wise
to keep out of danger than to venture in, but at that
time I was alone, and now I have two powerful friends
to protect me."
So, when he had finished his breakfast, they all set
out along the path that led to Loonville.
"It is a place I have never heard of before,"
remarked the Scarecrow, as they approached a dense
forest. "The inhabitants may be people, of some sort,
or they may be animals, but whatever they prove to be,
we will have an interesting story to relate to Dorothy
and Ozma on our return."
The path led into the forest, but the big trees grew
so closely together and the vines and underbrush were
so thick and matted that they had to clear a path at
each step in order to proceed. In one or two places the
Tin Man, who went first to clear the way, cut the
branches with a blow of his axe. Woot followed next,
and last of the three came the Scarecrow, who could not
have kept the path at all had not his comrades broken
the way for his straw-stuffed body.
Presently the Tin Woodman pushed his way through some
heavy underbrush, and almost tumbled headlong into a
vast cleared space in the forest. The clearing was
circular, big and roomy, yet the top branches of the
tall trees reached over and formed a complete dome or
roof for it. Strangely enough, it was not dark in this
immense natural chamber in the woodland, for the place
glowed with a soft, white light that seemed to come
from some unseen source.
In the chamber were grouped dozens of queer
creatures, and these so astonished the Tin Man that
Woot had to push his metal body aside, that he might
see, too. And the Scarecrow pushed Woot aside, so that
the three travelers stood in a row, staring with all
their eyes.
The creatures they beheld were round and ball-like;
round in body, round in legs and arms, round in hands
and feet and round of head. The only exception to the
roundness was a slight hollow on the top of each head,
making it saucer-shaped instead of dome-shaped. They
wore no clothes on their puffy bodies, nor had they any
hair. Their skins were all of a light gray color, and
their eyes were mere purple spots. Their noses were as
puffy as the rest of them.
"Are they rubber, do you think?" asked the Scarecrow,
who noticed that the creatures bounded, as they moved,
and seemed almost as light as air.
"It is difficult to tell what they are," answered
Woot, "they seem to be covered with warts."
The Loons -- for so these folks were called -- had
been doing many things, some playing together, some
working at tasks and some gathered in groups to talk;
but at the sound of strange voices, which echoed rather
loudly through the clearing, all turned in the
direction of the intruders. Then, in a body, they all
rushed forward, running and bounding with tremendous
speed.
The Tin Woodman was so surprised by this sudden dash
that he had no time to raise his axe before the Loons
were on them. The creatures swung their puffy hands,
which looked like boxing-gloves, and pounded the three
travelers as hard as they could, on all sides. The
blows were quite soft and did not hurt our friends at
all, but the onslaught quite bewildered them, so that
in a brief period all three were knocked over and fell
flat upon the ground. Once down, many of the Loons
held them, to prevent their getting up again, while
others wound long tendrils of vines about them, binding
their arms and legs to their bodies and so rendering
them helpless.
"Aha!" cried the biggest Loon of all; "we've got 'em
safe; so let's carry 'em to King Bal and have 'em
tried, and condemned and perforated!" They had to drag
their captives to the center of the domed chamber, for
their weight, as compared with that of the Loons,
prevented their being carried. Even the Scarecrow was
much heavier than the puffy Loons. But finally the
party halted before a raised platform, on which stood a
sort of throne, consisting of a big, wide chair with a
string tied to one arm of it. This string led upward to
the roof of the dome.
Arranged before the platform, the prisoners were
allowed to sit up, facing the empty throne.
"Good!" said the big Loon who had commanded the
party. "Now to get King Bal to judge these terrible
creatures we have so bravely captured."
As he spoke he took hold of the string and began to
pull as hard as he could. One or two of the others
helped him and pretty soon, as they drew in the cord,
the leaves above them parted and a Loon appeared at the
other end of the string. It didn't take long to draw
him down to the throne, where he seated himself and was
tied in, so he wouldn't float upward again.
"Hello," said the King, blinking his purple eyes at
his followers; "what's up now!"
"Strangers, your Majesty -- strangers and captives,"
replied the big Loon, pompously
"Dear me! I see 'em. I see 'em very plainly,"
exclaimed the King, his purple eyes bulging out as he
looked at the three prisoners. "What curious animals!
Are they dangerous, do you think, my good Panta?"
"I'm 'fraid so, your Majesty. Of course, they may not
be dangerous, but we mustn't take chances. Enough
accidents happen to us poor Loons as it is, and my
advice is to condemn and perforate 'em as quickly as
possible."
"Keep your advice to yourself," said the monarch, in
a peeved tone. "Who's King here, anyhow? You or Me?"
"We made you our King because you have less common
sense than the rest of us," answered Panta Loon,
indignantly. "I could have been King myself, had I
wanted to, but I didn't care for the hard work and
responsibility."
As he said this, the big Loon strutted back and forth
in the space between the throne of King Bal and the
prisoners, and the other Loons seemed much impressed by
his defiance. But suddenly there came a sharp report
and Panta Loon instantly disappeared, to the great
astonishment of the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman and Woot
the Wanderer, who saw on the spot where the big fellow
had stood a little heap of flabby, wrinkled skin that
looked like a collapsed rubber balloon.
"There!" exclaimed the King; "I expected that would
happen. The conceited rascal wanted to puff himself up
until he was bigger than the rest of you, and this is
the result of his folly. Get the pump working, some of
you, and blow him up again."
"We will have to mend the puncture first, your
Majesty," suggested one of the Loons, and the prisoners
noticed that none of them seemed surprised or shocked
at the sad accident to Panta.
"All right," grumbled the King. "Fetch Til to mend
him."
One or two ran away and presently returned, followed
by a lady Loon wearing huge, puffed-up rubber skirts.
Also she had a purple feather fastened to a wart on the
top of her head, and around her waist was a sash of
fibre-like vines, dried and tough, that looked like
strings.
"Get to work, Til," commanded King Bal. "Panta has
just exploded."
The lady Loon picked up the bunch of skin and
examined it carefully until she discovered a hole in
one foot. Then she pulled a strand of string from her
sash, and drawing the edges of the hole together. she
tied them fast with the string, thus making one of
those curious warts which the strangers had noticed on
so many Loons. Having done this, Til Loon tossed the
bit of skin to the other Loons and was about to go away
when she noticed the prisoners and stopped to inspect
them.
"Dear me!" said Til; "what dreadful creatures. Where
did they come from?"
"We captured them," replied one of the Loons.
"And what are we going to do with them?" inquired the
girl Loon.
"Perhaps we'll condemn 'em and puncture 'em,"
answered the King.
"Well," said she, still eyeing the "I'm not sure
they'll puncture. Let's try it, and see."
One of the Loons ran to the forest's edge and quickly
returned with a long, sharp thorn. He glanced at the
King, who nodded his head in assent, and then he rushed
forward and stuck the thorn into the leg of the
Scarecrow. The Scarecrow merely smiled and said
nothing, for the thorn didn't hurt him at all.
Then the Loon tried to prick the Tin Woodman's leg,
but the tin only blunted the point of the thorn.
"Just as I thought," said Til, blinking her purple
eyes and shaking her puffy head; but just then the Loon
stuck the thorn into the leg of Woot the Wanderer, and
while it had been blunted somewhat, it was still sharp
enough to hurt.
"Ouch!" yelled Woot, and kicked out his leg with so
much energy that the frail bonds that tied him burst
apart. His foot caught the Loon -- who was leaning over
him -- full on his puffy stomach, and sent him shooting
up into the air. When he was high over their heads he
exploded with a loud "pop" and his skin fell to the
ground.
"I really believe," said the King, rolling his
spotlike eyes in a frightened way, "that Panta was
right in claiming these prisoners are dangerous. Is
the pump ready?"
Some of the Loons had wheeled a big machine in front
of the throne and now took Panta's skin and began to
pump air into it. Slowly it swelled out until the King
cried "Stop!"
"No, no!" yelled Panta, "I'm not big enough yet."
"You're as big as you're going to be," declared the
King. "Before you exploded you were bigger than the
rest of us, and that caused you to be proud and
overbearing. Now you're a little smaller than the rest,
and you will last longer and be more humble."
"Pump me up -- pump me up!" wailed Panta "If you
don't you'll break my heart."
"If we do we'll break your skin," replied the King.
So the Loons stopped pumping air into Panta, and
pushed him away from the pump. He was certainly more
humble than before his accident, for he crept into the
background and said nothing more.
"Now pump up the other one," ordered the King. Til
had already mended him, and the Loons set to work to
pump him full of air.
During these last few moments none had paid much
attention to the prisoners, so Woot, finding his legs
free, crept over to the Tin Woodman and rubbed the
bonds that were still around his arms and body against
the sharp edge of the axe, which quickly cut them.
The boy was now free, and the thorn which the Loon
had stuck into his leg was lying unnoticed on the
ground, where the creature had dropped it when he
exploded. Woot leaned forward and picked up the thorn,
and while the Loons were busy watching the pump, the
boy sprang to his feet and suddenly rushed upon the
group.
"Pop" -- "pop" -- "pop!" went three of the Loons,
when the Wanderer pricked them with his thorn, and at
the sounds the others looked around and saw their
danger. With yells of fear they bounded away in all
directions, scattering about the clearing, with Woot
the Wanderer in full chase. While they could run much
faster than the boy, they often stumbled and fell, or
got in one another's way, so he managed to catch
several and prick them with his thorn.
It astonished him to see how easily the Loons
exploded. When the air was let out of them they were
quite helpless. Til Loon was one of those who ran
against his thorn and many others suffered the same
fate. The creatures could not escape from the
enclosure, but in their fright many bounded upward and
caught branches of the trees, and then climbed out of
reach of the dreaded thorn.
Woot was getting pretty tired chasing them, so he
stopped and came over, panting, to where his friends
were sitting, still bound.
"Very well done, my Wanderer," said the Tin Woodman.
"It is evident that we need fear these puffed-up
creatures no longer, so be kind enough to unfasten our
bonds and we will proceed upon our journey."
Woot untied the bonds of the Scarecrow and helped him
to his feet. Then he freed the Tin Woodman, who got up
without help. Looking around them, they saw that the
only Loon now remaining within reach was Bal Loon, the
King, who had remained seated in his throne, watching
the punishment of his people with a bewildered look in
his purple eyes.
"Shall I puncture the King?" the boy asked his
companions.
King Bal must have overheard the question, for he
fumbled with the cord that fastened him to the throne
and managed to release it. Then he floated upward until
he reached the leafy dome, and parting the branches he
disappeared from sight. But the string that was tied to
his body was still connected with the arm of the
throne, and they knew they could pull his Majesty down
again, if they wanted to.
"Let him alone," suggested the Scarecrow. "He seems a
good enough king for his peculiar people, and after we
are gone, the Loons will have something of a job to
pump up all those whom Woot has punctured."
"Every one of them ought to be exploded," declared
Woot, who was angry because his leg still hurt him.
"No," said the Tin Woodman, "that would not be just
fair. They were quite right to capture us, because we
had no business to intrude here, having been warned to
keep away from Loonville. This is their country, not
ours, and since the poor things can't get out of the
clearing, they can harm no one save those who venture
here out of curiosity, as we did."
"Well said, my friend," agreed tile Scarecrow. "We
really had no right to disturb their peace and comfort;
so let us go away."
They easily found the place where they had forced
their way into the enclosure, so the Tin Woodman pushed
aside the underbrush and started first along the path.
The Scarecrow followed next and last came Woot, who
looked back and saw that the Loons were still clinging
to their perches on the trees and watching their former
captives with frightened eyes.
"I guess they're glad to see the last of us,"
remarked the boy, and laughing at the happy ending of
the adventure, he followed his comrades along the path.
Chapter Five
Mrs. Yoop, the Giantess
When they had reached the end of the path, where they
had first seen the warning sign, they set off across
the country in an easterly direction. Before long they
reached Rolling Lands, which were a succession of hills
and valleys where constant climbs and descents were
required, and their journey now became tedious, because
on climbing each hill, they found before them nothing
in the valley below it except grass, or weeds or
stones.
Up and down they went for hours, with nothing to
relieve the monotony of the landscape, until finally,
when they had topped a higher hill than usual, they
discovered a cup-shaped valley before them in the
center of which stood an enormous castle, built of
purple stone. The castle was high and broad and
long, but had no turrets and towers. So far as they
could see, there was but one small window and one
big door on each side of the great building.
"This is strange!" mused the Scarecrow. "I'd no idea
such a big castle existed in this Gillikin Country. I
wonder who lives here?"
"It seems to me, from this distance," remarked the
Tin Woodman, "that it's the biggest castle I ever saw.
It is really too big for any use, and no one could open
or shut those big doors without a stepladder."
"Perhaps, if we go nearer, we shall find out whether
anybody lives there or not," suggested Woot. "Looks to
me as if nobody lived there."
On they went, and when they reached the center of the
valley, where the great stone castle stood, it was
beginning to grow dark. So they hesitated as to what to
do.
"If friendly people happen to live here," said Woot.
I shall be glad of a bed; but should enemies occupy the
place, I prefer to sleep upon the ground."
"And if no one at all lives here," added the
Scarecrow, "we can enter, and take possession, and
make ourselves at home."
While speaking he went nearer to one of the great
doors, which was three times as high and broad as any
he had ever seen in a house before, and then he
discovered, engraved in big letters upon a stone over
the doorway, the words:
"YOOP CASTLE"
"Oho!" he exclaimed; "I know the place now. This was
probably the home of Mr. Yoop, a terrible giant whom I
have seen confined in a cage, a long way from here.
Therefore this castle is likely to be empty and we may
use it in any way we please."
"Yes, yes," said the Tin Emperor, nodding; "I also
remember Mr. Yoop. But how are we to get into his
deserted castle? The latch of the door is so far above
our heads that none of us can reach it."
They considered this problem for a while, and then
Woot said to the Tin Man:
"If I stand upon your shoulders, I think I can
unlatch the door."
"Climb up, then," was the reply, and when the boy was
perched upon the tin shoulders of Nick Chopper, he was
just able to reach the latch and raise it.
At once the door swung open, its great hinges making
a groaning sound as if in protest, so Woot leaped down
and followed his companions into a big, bare hallway.
Scarcely were the three inside, however, when they
heard the door slam shut behind them, and this
astonished them because no one had touched it. It had
closed of its own accord, as if by magic. Moreover,
the latch was on the outside, and the thought occurred
to each one of them that they were now prisoners in
this unknown castle.
"However," mumbled the Scarecrow, "we are not to
blame for what cannot be helped; so let us push bravely
ahead and see what may be seen."
It was quite dark in the hallway, now that the
outside door was shut, so as they stumbled along a
stone passage they kept close together, not knowing
what danger was likely to befall them.
Suddenly a soft glow enveloped them. It grew
brighter, until they could see their surroundings
distinctly. They had reached the end of the passage and
before them was another huge door. This noiselessly
swung open before them, without the help of anyone, and
through the doorway they observed a big chamber, the
walls of which were lined with plates of pure gold,
highly polished.
This room was also lighted, although they could
discover no lamps, and in the center of it was a great
table at which sat an immense woman. She was clad in
silver robes embroidered with gay floral designs, and
wore over this splendid raiment a short apron of
elaborate lace-work. Such an apron was no protection,
and was not in keeping with the handsome gown, but the
huge woman wore it, nevertheless. The table at which
she sat was spread with a white cloth and had golden
dishes upon it, so the travelers saw that they had
surprised the Giantess while she was eating her supper.
She had her back toward them and did not even turn
around, but taking a biscuit from a dish she began to
butter it and said in a voice that was big and deep but
not especially unpleasant:
"Why don't you come in and allow the door to shut?
You're causing a draught, and I shall catch cold and
sneeze. When I sneeze, I get cross, and when I get
cross I'm liable to do something wicked. Come in, you
foolish strangers; come in!"
Being thus urged, they entered the room and
approached the table, until they stood where they faced
the great Giantess. She continued eating, but smiled in
a curious way as she looked at them. Woot noticed that
the door had closed silently after they had entered,
and that didn't please him at all.
"Well," said the Giantess, "what excuse have you to
offer?"
"We didn't know anyone lived here, Madam," explained
the Scarecrow; "so, being travelers and strangers in
these parts, and wishing to find a place for our boy
friend to sleep, we ventured to enter your castle."
"You knew it was private property, I suppose?" said
she, buttering another biscuit.
"We saw the words, 'Yoop Castle,' over the door, but
we knew that Mr. Yoop is a prisoner in a cage in a far-
off part of the land of Oz, so we decided there was no
one now at home and that we might use the castle for
the night."
"I see," remarked the Giantess, nodding her head and
smiling again in that curious way -- a way that made
Woot shudder. "You didn't know that Mr. Yoop was
married, or that after he was cruelly captured his wife
still lived in his castle and ran it to suit herself."
"Who captured Mr. Yoop?" asked Woot, looking gravely
at the big woman.
"Wicked enemies. People who selfishly objected to
Yoop's taking their cows and sheep for his food. I must
admit, however, that Yoop had a bad temper, and had the
habit of knocking over a few houses, now and then, when
he was angry. So one day the little folks came in a
great crowd and captured Mr. Yoop, and carried him away
to a cage somewhere in the mountains. I don't know
where it is, and I don't care, for my husband treated
me badly at times, forgetting the respect a giant owes
to a giantess. Often he kicked me on my shins, when I
wouldn't wait on him. So I'm glad he is gone."
"It's a wonder the people didn't capture you, too,"
remarked Woot.
"Well, I was too clever for them," said she, giving a
sudden laugh that caused such a breeze that the wobbly
Scarecrow was almost blown off his feet and had to grab
his friend Nick Chopper to steady himself. "I saw the
people coining," continued Mrs. Yoop, "and knowing they
meant mischief I transformed myself into a mouse and
hid in a cupboard. After they had gone away, carrying
my shin-kicking husband with them, I transformed myself
back to my former shape again, and here I've lived in
peace and comfort ever since."
"Are you a Witch, then? " inquired Woot.
"Well, not exactly a Witch," she replied, "but I'm an
Artist in Transformations. In other words, I'm more of
a Yookoohoo than a Witch, and of course you know that
the Yookoohoos are the cleverest magic-workers in the
world."
The travelers were silent for a time, uneasily
considering this statement and the effect it might have
on their future. No doubt the Giantess had wilfully
made them her prisoners; yet she spoke so cheerfully,
in her big voice, that until now they had not been
alarmed in the least.
By and by the Scarecrow, whose mixed brains had been
working steadily, asked the woman:
"Are we to consider you our friend, Mrs. Yoop, or do
you intend to be our enemy?"
"I never have friends," she said in a matter-of-fact
tone, "because friends get too familiar and always
forget to mind their own business. But I am not your
enemy; not yet, anyhow. Indeed, I'm glad you've come,
for my life here is rather lonely. I've had no one to
talk to since I transformed Polychrome, the Daughter of
the Rainbow, into a canary-bird."
"How did you manage to do that?" asked the Tin
Woodman, in amazement. "Polychrome is a powerful
fairy!"
"She was," said the Giantess; "but now she's a
canary-bird. One day after a rain, Polychrome danced
off the Rainbow and fell asleep on a little mound in
this valley, not far from my castle. The sun came out
and drove the Rainbow away, and before Poly wakened, I
stole out and transformed her into a canary-bird in a
gold cage studded with diamonds. The cage was so she
couldn't fly away. I expected she'd sing and talk and
we'd have good times together; but she has proved no
company for me at all. Ever since the moment of her
transformation, she has refused to speak a single
word."
"Where is she now?" inquired Woot, who had heard tales
of lovely Polychrome and was much interested in her.
"The cage is hanging up in my bedroom," said the
Giantess, eating another biscuit. The travelers were
now more uneasy and suspicious of the Giantess than
before. If Polychrome, the Rainbow's Daughter, who was
a real fairy, had been transformed and enslaved by this
huge woman, who claimed to be a Yookoohoo, what was
liable to happen to them? Said the Scarecrow, twisting
his stuffed head around in Mrs. Yoop's direction:
"Do you know, Ma'am, who we are?"
"Of course," said she; "a straw man, a tin man and a boy."
"We are very important people," declared the Tin Woodman.
"All the better," she replied. "I shall enjoy your
society the more on that account. For I mean to keep
you here as long as I live, to amuse me when I get
lonely. And," she added slowly, "in this Valley no one
ever dies."
They didn't like this speech at all, so the Scarecrow
frowned in a way that made Mrs. Yoop smile, while
the Tin Woodman looked so fierce that Mrs. Yoop
laughed. The Scarecrow suspected she was going to
laugh, so he slipped behind his friends to escape the
wind from her breath. From this safe position he
said warningly:
"We have powerful friends who will soon come to
rescue us."
"Let them come," she returned, with an accent of
scorn. "When they get here they will find neither a
boy, nor a tin man, nor a scarecrow, for tomorrow
morning I intend to transform you all into other
shapes, so that you cannot be recognized."
This threat filled them with dismay. The good-natured
Giantess was more terrible than they had imagined. She
could smile and wear pretty clothes and at the same
time be even more cruel than her wicked husband had been.
Both the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman tried to
think of some way to escape from the castle before
morning, but she seemed to read their thoughts and
shook her head.
"Don't worry your poor brains," said she. "You can't
escape me, however hard you try. But why should you
wish to escape? I shall give you new forms that are
much better than the ones you now have. Be contented
with your fate, for discontent leads to unhappiness,
and unhappiness, in any form, is the greatest evil that
can befall you."
"What forms do you intend to give us?" asked Woot
earnestly.
"I haven't decided, as yet. I'll dream over it
tonight, so in the morning I shall have made up my mind
how to transform you. Perhaps you'd prefer to choose
your own transformations?"
"No," said Woot, "I prefer to remain as I am."
"That's funny," she retorted. "You are little, and
you're weak; as you are, you're not much account,
anyhow. The best thing about you is that you're alive,
for I shall be able to make of you some sort of live
creature which will be a great improvement on your
present form."
She took another biscuit from a plate and dipped it
in a pot of honey and calmly began eating it.
The Scarecrow watched her thoughtfully.
"There are no fields of grain in your Valley," said he;
"where, then. did you get the flour to make your biscuits?"
"Mercy me! do you think I'd bother to make biscuits
out of flour?" she replied. "That is altogether too
tedious a process for a Yookoohoo. I set some traps
this afternoon and caught a lot of field-mice, but as I
do not like to eat mice, I transformed them into hot
biscuits for my supper. The honey in this pot was once
a wasp's nest, but since being transformed it has
become sweet and delicious. All I need do, when I wish
to eat, is to take something I don't care to keep, and
transform it into any sort of food I like, and eat it.
Are you hungry?"
"I don't eat, thank you," said the Scarecrow.
"Nor do I," said the Tin Woodman.
"I have still a little natural food in my knapsack,"
said Woot the Wanderer, "and I'd rather eat that than
any wasp's nest."
"Every one to his taste," said the Giantess
carelessly, and having now finished her supper she rose
to her feet, clapped her hands together, and the supper
table at once disappeared.
Chapter Six
The Magic of a Yookoohoo
Woot had seen very little of magic during his
wanderings, while the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman had
seen a great deal of many sorts in their lives, yet all
three were greatly impressed by Mrs. Yoop's powers. She
did not affect any mysterious airs or indulge in chants
or mystic rites, as most witches do, nor was the
Giantess old and ugly or disagreeable in face or
manner. Nevertheless, she frightened her prisoners more
than any witch could have done.
"Please be seated," she said to them, as she sat
herself down in a great arm-chair and spread her
beautiful embroidered skirts for them to admire. But
all the chairs in the room were so high that our
friends could not climb to the seats of them. Mrs. Yoop
observed this and waved her hand, when instantly a
golden ladder appeared leaning against a chair opposite
her own.
"Climb up," said she, and they obeyed, the Tin Man
and the boy assisting the more clumsy Scarecrow. When
they were all seated in a row on the cushion of the
chair, the Giantess continued: "Now tell me how you
happened to travel in this direction, and where you
came from and what your errand is."
So the Tin Woodman told her all about Nimmie Amee,
and how he had decided to find her and marry her,
although he had no Loving Heart. The story seemed to
amuse the big woman, who then began to ask the
Scarecrow questions and for the first time in her life
heard of Ozma of Oz, and of Dorothy and Jack
Pumpkinhead and Dr. Pipt and Tik-tok and many other Oz
people who are well known in the Emerald City. Also
Woot had to tell his story, which. was very simple and
did not take long. The Giantess laughed heartily when
the boy related their adventure at Loonville, but said
she knew nothing of the Loons because she never left
her Valley.
"There are wicked people who would like to capture
me, as they did my giant husband, Mr. Yoop," said she;
"so I stay at home and mind my own business."
"If Ozma knew that you dared to work magic without
her consent, she would punish you severely," declared
the Scarecrow, "for this castle is in the Land of Oz,
and no persons in the Land of Oz are permitted to work
magic except Glinda the Good and the little Wizard who
lives with Ozma in the Emerald City."
"That for your Ozma!" exclaimed the Giantess,
snapping her fingers in derision. "What do I care for a
girl whom I have never seen and who has never seen me?"
"But Ozma is a fairy," said the Tin Woodman, and
therefore she is very powerful. Also, we are under
Ozma's protection, and to injure us in any way would
make her extremely angry."
"What I do here, in my own private castle in this
secluded Valley -- where no one comes but fools like
you -- can never be known to your fairy Ozma," returned
the Giantess. "Do not seek to frighten me from my
purpose, and do not allow yourselves to be frightened,
for it is best to meet bravely what cannot be avoided.
I am now going to bed, and in the morning I will give
you all new forms, such as will be more interesting to
me than the ones you now wear. Good night, and pleasant dreams."
Saying this, Mrs. Yoop rose from her chair and walked
through a doorway into another room. So heavy was the
tread of the Giantess that even the walls of the big
stone castle trembled as she stepped. She closed the
door of her bedroom behind her, and then suddenly the
light went out and the three prisoners found themselves
in total darkness.
The Tin Woodman and the Scarecrow didn't mind the
dark at all, but Woot the Wanderer felt worried to be
left in this strange place in this strange manner,
without being able to see any danger that might threaten.
"The big woman might have given me a bed, anyhow," he
said to his companions, and scarcely had he spoken when
he felt something press against his legs, which were
then dangling from the seat of the chair. Leaning down,
he put out his hand and found that a bedstead had
appeared, with mattress, sheets and covers, all
complete. He lost no time in slipping down upon the bed
and was soon fast asleep.
During the night the Scarecrow and the Emperor talked
in low tones together, and they got out of the chair
and moved all about the room, feeling for some hidden
spring that might open a door or window and permit them
to escape.
Morning found them still unsuccessful in the quest
and as soon as it was daylight Woot's bed suddenly
disappeared, and he dropped to the floor with a thump
that quickly wakened him. And after a time the Giantess
came from her bedroom, wearing another dress that was
quite as elaborate as the one in which she had been
attired the evening before, and also wearing the pretty
lace apron. Having seated herself in a chair, she said:
"I'm hungry; so I'll have breakfast at once."
She clapped her hands together and instantly the
table appeared before her, spread with snowy linen
and laden with golden dishes. But there was no
food upon the table, nor anything else except a
pitcher of water, a bundle of weeds and a handful
of pebbles. But the Giantess poured some water into
her coffee-pot, patted it once or twice with her hand,
and then poured out a cupful of steaming hot coffee.
"Would you like some?" she asked Woot.
He was suspicious of magic coffee, but it smelled so
good that he could not resist it; so he answered: "If
you please, Madam."
The Giantess poured out another cup and set it on the
floor for Woot. It was as big as a tub, and the golden
spoon in the saucer beside the cup was so heavy the boy
could scarcely lift it. But Woot managed to get a sip
of the coffee and found it delicious.
Mrs. Yoop next transformed the weeds into a dish of
oatmeal, which she ate with good appetite.
"Now, then," said she, picking up the pebbles. "I'm
wondering whether I shall have fish-balls or lamb-chops
to complete my meal. Which would you prefer, Woot the Wanderer?"
"If you please, I'll eat the food in my knapsack,"
answered the boy. "Your magic food might taste good,
but I'm afraid of it."
The woman laughed at his fears and transformed the
pebbles into fish-balls.
"I suppose you think that after you had eaten this
food it would turn to stones again and make you sick,"
she remarked; "but that would be impossible. Nothing I
transform ever gets back to its former shape again, so
these fish-balls can never more be pebbles. That is why
I have to be careful of my transformations," she added,
busily eating while she talked, "for while I can change
forms at will I can never change them back again --
which proves that even the powers of a clever Yookoohoo
are limited. When I have transformed you three people,
you must always wear the shapes that I have given you."
"Then please don't transform us," begged Woot, "for
we are quite satisfied to remain as we are."
"I am not expecting to satisfy you, but intend to
please myself," she declared, "and my pleasure is to
give you new shapes. For, if by chance your friends
came in search of you, not one of them would be able to
recognize you."
Her tone was so positive that they knew it would be
useless to protest. The woman was not unpleasant to
look at; her face was not cruel; her voice was big but
gracious in tone; but her words showed that she
possessed a merciless heart and no pleadings would
alter her wicked purpose.
Mrs. Yoop took ample time to finish her breakfast and
the prisoners had no desire to hurry her, but finally
the meal was concluded and she folded her napkin and
made the table disappear by clapping her hands
together. Then she turned to her captives and said:
"The next thing on the programme is to change your
forms."
"Have you decided what forms to give us?" asked the
Scarecrow, uneasily.
"Yes; I dreamed it all out while I was asleep. This
Tin Man seems a very solemn person " -- indeed, the Tin
Woodman was looking solemn, just then, for he was
greatly disturbed -- "so I shall change him into an
Owl."
All she did was to point one finger at him as she
spoke, but immediately the form of the Tin Woodman
began to change and in a few seconds Nick Chopper, the
Emperor of the Winkies, had been transformed into an
Owl, with eyes as big as saucers and a hooked beak and
strong claws. But he was still tin. He was a Tin Owl,
with tin legs and beak and eyes and feathers. When he
flew to the back of a chair and perched upon it, his
tin feathers rattled against one another with a tinny
clatter. The Giantess seemed much amused by the Tin
Owl's appearance, for her laugh was big and jolly.
"You're not liable to get lost," said she, "for your
wings and feathers will make a racket wherever you go.
And, on my word, a Tin Owl is so rare and pretty that
it is an improvement on the ordinary bird. I did not
intend to make you tin, but I forgot to wish you to be
meat. However, tin you were, and tin you are, and as
it's too late to change you, that settles it."
Until now the Scarecrow had rather doubted the
possibility of Mrs. Yoop's being able to transform him,
or his friend the Tin Woodman, for they were not made
as ordinary people are. He had worried more over what
might happen to Woot than to himself, but now he began
to worry about himself.
"Madam," he said hastily, "I consider this action
very impolite. It may even be called rude, considering
we are your guests."
"You are not guests, for I did not invite you here,"
she replied.
"Perhaps not; but we craved hospitality. We threw
ourselves upon your mercy, so to speak, and we now find
you have no mercy. Therefore, if you will excuse the
expression, I must say it is downright wicked to take
our proper forms away from us and give us others that
we do not care for."
"Are you trying to make me angry?" she asked,
frowning.
"By no means," said the Scarecrow; "I'm just trying
to make you act more ladylike."
"Oh, indeed! In my opinion, Mr. Scarecrow, you are
now acting like a bear -- so a Bear you shall be!"
Again the dreadful finger pointed, this time in the
Scarecrow's direction, and at once his form began to
change. In a few seconds he had become a small Brown
Bear, but he was stuffed with straw as he had been
before, and when the little Brown Bear shuffled across
the floor he was just as wobbly as the Scarecrow had
been and moved just as awkwardly.
Woot was amazed, but he was also thoroughly
frightened.
"Did it hurt?" he asked the little Brown Bear.
"No, of course not," growled the Scarecrow in the
Bear's form; "but I don't like walking on four legs;
it's undignified."
"Consider my humiliation!" chirped the Tin Owl,
trying to settle its tin feathers smoothly with its tin
beak. "And I can't see very well, either. The light
seems to hurt my eyes."
"That's because you are an Owl," said Woot. "I think
you will see better in the dark."
"Well," remarked the Giantess, "I'm very well pleased
with these new forms, for my part, and I'm sure you
will like them better when you get used to them. So
now," she added, turning to the boy, "it is your turn."
"Don't you think you'd better leave me as I am?"
asked Woot in a trembling voice.
"No," she replied, "I'm going to make a Monkey of
you. I love monkeys -- they're so cute! -- and I think
a Green Monkey will be lots of fun and amuse me when I
am sad."
Woot shivered, for again the terrible magic finger
pointed, and pointed directly his way. He felt himself
changing; not so very much, however, and it didn't hurt
him a bit. He looked down at his limbs and body and
found that his clothes were gone and his skin covered
with a fine, silk-like green fur. His hands and feet
were now those of a monkey. He realized he really was a
monkey, and his first feeling was one of anger. He
began to chatter as monkeys do. He bounded to the seat
of a giant chair, and then to its back and with a wild
leap sprang upon the laughing Giantess. His idea was to
seize her hair and pull it out by the roots, and so
have revenge for her wicked transformations. But she
raised her hand and said:
"Gently, my dear Monkey -- gently! You're not angry;
you're happy as can be!"
Woot stopped short. No; he wasn't a bit angry now; he
felt as good-humored and gay as ever he did when a boy.
Instead of pulling Mrs. Yoop's hair, he perched on her
shoulder and smoothed her soft cheek with his hairy
paw. In return, she smiled at the funny green animal
and patted his head.
"Very good," said the Giantess. "Let us all become
friends and be happy together. How is my Tin Owl
feeling?"
"Quite comfortable," said the Owl. "I don't like it,
to be sure, but I'm not going to allow my new form to
make me unhappy. But, tell me, please: what is a Tin
Owl good for?"
"You are only good to make me laugh," replied the
Giantess.
"Will a stuffed Bear also make you laugh?" inquired
the Scarecrow, sitting back on his haunches to look up
at her.
"Of course," declared the Giantess; "and I have added
a little magic to your transformations to make you all
contented with wearing your new forms. I'm sorry I
didn't think to do that when I transformed Polychrome
into a Canary-Bird. But perhaps, when she sees how
cheerful you are, she will cease to be silent and
sullen and take to singing. I will go get the bird and
let you see her."
With this, Mrs. Yoop went into the next room and soon
returned bearing a golden cage in which sat upon a
swinging perch a lovely yellow Canary. "Polychrome,"
said the Giantess, "permit me to introduce to you a
Green Monkey, which used to be a boy called Woot the
Wanderer, and a Tin Owl, which used to be a Tin Woodman
named Nick Chopper, and a straw-stuffed little Brown
Bear which used to be a live Scarecrow."
"We already know one another," declared the
Scarecrow. "The bird is Polychrome, the Rainbow's
Daughter, and she and I used to be good friends."
"Are you really my old friend, the Scarecrow?" asked;
the bird, in a sweet, low voice.
"There!" cried Mrs. Yoop; "that's the first time she
has spoken since she was transformed."
"I am really your old friend," answered the
Scarecrow; "but you must pardon me for appearing just
now in this brutal form."
"I am a bird, as you are, dear Poly," said the Tin
Woodman; "but, alas! a Tin Owl is not as beautiful as a
Canary-Bird."
"How dreadful it all is!" sighed the Canary.
"Couldn't you manage to escape from this terrible
Yookoohoo?"
No," answered the Scarecrow, "we tried to escape, but
failed. She first made us her prisoners and then
transformed us. But how did she manage to get you,
Polychrome?"'
"I was asleep, and she took unfair advantage of me,"
answered the bird sadly. "Had I been awake, I could
easily have protected myself."
"Tell me," said the Green Monkey earnestly, as he
came close to the cage, "what must we do, Daughter of
the Rainbow, to escape from these transformations?
Can't you help us, being a Fairy?" "At present I am
powerless to help even myself," replied the Canary.
"That's the exact truth!" exclaimed the Giantess, who
seemed pleased to hear the bird talk, even though it
complained; "you are all helpless and in my power, so
you may as well make up your minds to accept your fate
and be content. Remember that you are transformed for
good, since no magic on earth can break your
enchantments. I am now going out for my morning walk,
for each day after breakfast I walk sixteen times
around my castle for exercise. Amuse yourselves while I
am gone, and when I return I hope to find you all
reconciled and happy."
So the Giantess walked to the door by which our
friends had entered the great hall and spoke one word:
"Open!" Then the door swung open and after Mrs. Yoop
had passed out it closed again with a snap as its
powerful bolts shot into place. The Green Monkey had
rushed toward the opening, hoping to escape, but he was
too late and only got a bump on his nose as the door
slammed shut.
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