Oz 05: The Road to Oz by L. Frank Baum
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you ever saw ."

"Oh, how nice ! and where are they, Billina ? "

"I left them at home . but they're beauties, I assure you, and all wonderfully clever .I've named them Dorothy ."

" which one ? " asked the girl .

" all of_them," replied Billina .

" that's funny . why did you name them all with_the same name ? "

" it_was so hard to_tell them apart," explained the hen ." now, when I call ' Dorothy,' they all come running to_me in a bunch; it's much easier, after all, than having a separate name for each ."

"I'm just dying to_see 'em, Billina," said Dorothy, eagerly ." but tell me, my friends, how did you happen to_be here, in_the country of_the Winkies, the first of all to meet us ? "

"I'll tell you," answered Tik-tok, in_his monotonous voice, all the sounds of_his words being on one level--"Prin-cess Oz- MA saw you in her mag-ic pic-ture, and knew you were com-ing here; so she sent Bil-lin-a and me to wel- come you as she_could_not come her- self; so_that--fiz-i- dig-le cum- so-lut-ing hy-ber-gob-ble in-tu-zib-ick--"

" good gracious ! whatever's the matter now ? " cried Dorothy, as_the copper man continued to babble these unmeaning words, which no one could understand at all because they had no sense .

"Don't know," said button- bright, who was half scared .Polly whirled away to a distance and turned to look at_the copper man in a fright .

" his thoughts have run down, this_time," remarked Billina composedly, as she sat on Tik-tok's shoulder and pruned her sleek feathers ." when he_can't think, he_can't talk properly, any more than you_can . you'll have to wind up his thoughts, Dorothy, or else I'll have to finish his story myself ."

Dorothy ran around and got the key again and wound up Tik-tok under his left arm, after which he_could speak plainly again .

" par-don me," he_said, " but when my thoughts run down, my speech has no mean-ing, for words are formed on-ly by thought . i_was a- bout to_say that Oz- MA sent us to wel- come you and in-vite you to_come straight to_the Em-er-ald Ci-ty . she was too bus-y to_come her- self, for she_is pre- par-ing for her birth- day cel-e-bra-tion, which is_to_be a grand af- fair ."

"I've heard of it," said Dorothy, " and I'm glad we've come in_time to attend . is_it far from here to_the emerald city ? "

" not ve-ry far," answered Tik-tok, " and we_have plen-ty of_time . to- night we_will stop at_the PAL- ace of_the tin wood- man, and to-mor- row night we_will ar- rive at_the Em-er-ald Ci-ty ."

"Goody ! " cried Dorothy ."I'd like to_see dear nick chopper again . how's his heart ? "

" it's fine," said Billina; " the tin woodman says it gets softer and kindlier every day . he's waiting at his castle to welcome you, Dorothy; but he couldn't come with_us because he's getting polished as bright as possible for Ozma's party ."

" well then," said Dorothy, " let's start on, and we_can talk more as_we go ."

they proceeded on their journey in a friendly group, for polychrome had discovered that_the copper man was harmless and was no longer afraid of him . button- bright was also reassured, and took quite a fancy to Tik-tok . he_wanted the clockwork man to open himself, so_that he might see the wheels go round; but that was a thing Tik-tok could_not do . button- bright then wanted to wind up the copper man, and Dorothy promised he_should do_so as_soon_as any part of_the machinery ran down . this pleased button- bright, who held fast to one of Tik-tok's copper hands as he trudged along the road, while Dorothy walked on_the other side of her old friend and Billina perched by turns upon his shoulder or his copper hat .Polly once more joyously danced ahead and Toto ran after her, barking with glee . the shaggy man was left to walk behind; but he didn't seem to mind that a bit, and whistled merrily or looked curiously upon_the pretty scenes they passed .

at last they came to ahilltop from_which the tin castle of nick chopper could plainly be seen, its towers glistening magnificently under the rays of_the declining sun .

" how pretty ! " exclaimed Dorothy ."I've never seen the Emp'ror's new house before ."

" he built it because the old castle was damp, and likely to rust his tin body," said Billina ." all those towers and steeples and domes and gables took alot of tin, as_you_can see ."

" is_it a toy ? " asked button- bright softly .

" no, dear," answered Dorothy; " it's better than that . it's the fairy dwelling of a fairy prince ."

15 . the emperor's tin castle

the grounds around nick chopper's new house were laid out in pretty flower-beds, with fountains of crystal water and statues of tin representing the emperor's personal friends . Dorothy was astonished and delighted to_find a tin statue of herself standing on a tin pedestal at a bend in_the avenue leading up_to_the entrance . it_was life- size and showed her in her sunbonnet with her basket on her arm, just as she had first appeared in_the land of Oz .

"Oh, Toto-- you're there too ! " she exclaimed; and sure enough there_was the tin figure of Toto lying at_the tin Dorothy's feet .

also, Dorothy saw figures of_the Scarecrow, and_the wizard, and Ozma, and of many others, including Tik-tok . they reached the grand tin entrance to_the tin castle, and_the tin woodman himself came running out_of_the door to embrace little Dorothy and give her a glad welcome . he welcomed her friends as_well, and_the rainbow's daughter he declared to_be the loveliest vision his tin eyes had ever beheld . he patted button- bright's curly head tenderly, for he_was fond of children, and turned to_the shaggy man and shook both his hands at_the same time .

nick chopper, the emperor of_the Winkies, who was also known throughout_the land of Oz as_the tin woodman, was certainly a remarkable person . he_was neatly made, all of tin, nicely soldered at_the joints, and_his various limbs were cleverly hinged to_his body so_that he_could use them nearly as_well as if_they had_been common flesh . once, he_told the shaggy man, he had_been made all of flesh and bones, as other people are, and then he chopped wood in_the forests to earn his living . but the axe slipped so often and cut off parts of him-- which he had replaced with tin-- that finally there_was no flesh left, nothing but tin; so he became a real tin woodman . the wonderful wizard of Oz had given him an excellent heart to replace his old one, and he didn't at all mind being tin . every_one loved him, he loved every_one; and he_was therefore as happy as_the day was long .

the emperor was proud of_his new tin castle, and showed his visitors through all the rooms . every bit of_the furniture was_made of brightly polished tin-- the tables, chairs, beds, and all-- even the floors and walls were of tin .

"I suppose," said he, " that_there_are no cleverer tinsmiths in all the world than_the Winkies . it would_be hard to match this castle in Kansas; wouldn't it, little Dorothy ? "

" very hard," replied the child, gravely .

" it must_have cost alot of money," remarked the shaggy man .

" money ! money in Oz ! " cried the tin woodman ." what a queer idea ! did you suppose we_are so vulgar as_to use money here ? "

" why_not ? " asked the shaggy man .

" if_we used money to_buy things with, instead of love and kindness and_the desire to_please one another, then we_should_be no better than_the rest of_the world," declared the tin woodman ."Fortunately money is_not known in_the land of Oz at all . we_have no rich, and no poor; for what one wishes the others all try to_give him, in_order to_make him happy, and no one in all Oz cares to_have more than he_can use ."

" good ! " cried the shaggy man, greatly pleased to hear this ."I also despise money--a man in Butterfield owes me fifteen cents, and i_will_not take it from_him . the land of Oz is surely the most favored land in all the world, and its people the happiest . i_should like to live here always ."

the tin woodman listened with respectful attention . already he loved the shaggy man, although he_did_not yet know of_the love magnet . so he_said:

" if_you_can prove to_the princess Ozma that you_are honest and true and worthy of_our friendship, you_may indeed live here all your days, and be as happy as_we_are ."

"I'll try to_prove that," said the shaggy man, earnestly .

" and now," continued the emperor, " you_must all go to your rooms and prepare for dinner, which will presently be served in_the grand tin dining- hall . I_am sorry, shaggy man, that I_can not offer you a change of clothing; but I dress only in tin, myself, and I suppose that_would not suit you ."

"I care little about dress," said the shaggy man, indifferently .

" so i_should imagine," replied the emperor, with true politeness .

they were shown to_their rooms and permitted to_make such toilets as they_could, and soon they assembled again in_the grand tin dining- hall, even Toto being present . for_the emperor was fond of Dorothy's little dog, and_the girl explained to her friends that in Oz all animals were treated with as_much consideration as_the people--" if_they behave themselves," she added .

Toto behaved himself, and sat in a tin high- chair beside Dorothy and ate his dinner from a tin platter .

indeed, they all ate from tin dishes, but these were of pretty shapes and brightly polished; Dorothy thought they were just as good as silver .

button- bright looked curiously at_the man who had " no appetite inside him," for_the tin woodman, although he had prepared so fine a feast for_his guests, ate not a mouthful himself, sitting patiently in_his place to_see that all built so they_could eat were well and plentifully served .

what pleased button- bright most about_the dinner was_the tin orchestra that played sweet music while the company ate . the players were_not tin, being just ordinary Winkies; but the instruments they played upon were all tin-- tin trumpets, tin fiddles, tin drums and cymbals and flutes and horns and all . they played so nicely the "Shining emperor waltz," composed expressly in honor of_the tin woodman by_Mr H .M .Wogglebug, T .E ., that Polly could_not resist dancing to_it . after she had tasted a few dewdrops, freshly gathered for her, she danced gracefully to_the music while the others finished their repast; and when she whirled until her fleecy draperies of rainbow hues enveloped her like a cloud, the tin woodman was so delighted that he clapped his tin hands until the noise of_them drowned the sound of_the cymbals .

altogether it_was a merry meal, although polychrome ate little and_the host nothing at all .

"I'm sorry the rainbow's daughter missed her mist-cakes," said the tin woodman to Dorothy; " but by a mistake miss Polly's mist-cakes were mislaid and not missed until now .I'll try to_have some for her breakfast ."

they spent the evening telling stories, and_the next morning left the splendid tin castle and set out upon_the road to_the emerald city . the tin woodman went with_them, of_course, having by_this_time been so brightly polished that he sparkled like silver . his axe, which he always carried with_him, had a steel blade that was tin plated and a handle covered with tin plate beautifully engraved and set with diamonds .

the Winkies assembled before_the castle gates and cheered their emperor as he marched away, and it_was easy to_see that_they all loved him dearly .

16 . visiting the pumpkin- field

Dorothy let button- bright wind up the clock- work in_the copper man this_morning-- his thinking machine first, then his speech, and finally his action; so he_would doubtless run perfectly until they had reached the emerald city . the copper man and_the tin man were good friends, and not so_much alike as_you_might think . for_one was alive and_the other moved by_means of machinery; one was tall and angular and_the other short and round . you_could love the tin woodman because he had a fine nature, kindly and simple; but the machine man you_could only admire without loving, since to love such a thing as he_was as impossible as_to love asewing- machine or an automobile . yet Tik-tok was popular with_the people of Oz because he_was so trustworthy, reliable and true; he_was sure to_do exactly what he_was wound up to_do, at all times and in all circumstances . perhaps it_is better to_be a machine that does its duty than a flesh- and- blood person who_will_not, for a dead truth is better than a live falsehood .

about noon the travelers reached a large field of pumpkins--a vegetable quite appropriate to_the yellow country of_the Winkies-- and some_of_the pumpkins which grew there were of remarkable size . just before_they entered upon_this field they saw three little mounds that looked like graves, with a pretty headstone to each one_of_them .

" what_is this ? " asked Dorothy, in wonder .

" it's jack Pumpkinhead's private graveyard," replied the tin woodman .

" but i_thought nobody ever died in Oz," she said .

" nor do they; although if one is bad, he_may_be condemned and killed by_the good citizens," he answered .

Dorothy ran over to_the little graves and read the words engraved upon_the tombstones . the first one said:

here Lies the mortal part of jack PUMPKINHEAD which spoiled

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