Oz 01: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
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asleep among_the poppies . the flowers had_been too strong for_the huge beast and he had given up at last, and fallen only a short distance from_the end of_the poppy bed, where the sweet grass spread in beautiful green fields before them .

" we_can do nothing for him," said the tin woodman, sadly; " for he_is much too heavy to lift . we_must leave him here to sleep on forever, and perhaps he_will dream that he has found courage at last ."

"I'm sorry," said the Scarecrow ." the lion was a very_good comrade for_one so cowardly . but let_us go on ."

they carried the sleeping girl to a pretty spot beside the river, far enough from_the poppy field to_prevent her breathing any more of_the poison of_the flowers, and here they laid her gently on_the soft grass and waited for_the fresh breeze to waken her .

9 . the queen of_the field Mice

" we_cannot_be far from_the road of yellow brick, now," remarked the Scarecrow, as he stood beside the girl, " for we_have come nearly as far as_the river carried us away ."

the tin woodman was about to reply when he heard a low growl, and turning his head ( which worked beautifully on hinges) he_saw a strange beast come bounding over the grass toward them . it_was, indeed, a great yellow Wildcat, and_the woodman thought it must_be chasing something, for its ears were lying close to its head and its mouth was wide open, showing two rows of ugly teeth, while its red eyes glowed like balls of fire . as it came nearer the tin woodman saw that running before_the beast was a little gray field mouse, and although he had no heart he_knew it_was wrong for_the Wildcat to_try to kill such a pretty, harmless creature .

so the woodman raised his axe, and as_the Wildcat ran by he_gave it a quick blow that cut the beast's head clean off from its body, and it rolled over at his feet in two pieces .

the field mouse, now that_it_was freed from its enemy, stopped short; and coming slowly up_to_the woodman it said, in asqueaky little voice:

"Oh, thank_you ! thank_you ever so_much for saving my life ."

"Don't speak of it, I beg of you," replied the woodman ." I_have no heart, you_know, so I_am careful to help all those who_may need a friend, even if_it happens to_be only a mouse ."

" only a mouse ! " cried the little animal, indignantly ." why, I_am a queen-- the queen of all the field Mice ! "

"Oh, indeed," said the woodman, making a bow .

" therefore you have_done a great deed, as_well as a brave one, in saving my life," added the queen .

at_that moment several mice were seen running up as fast as their little legs could carry them, and when_they saw their queen they exclaimed:

"Oh, your majesty, we thought you_would_be killed ! how did you manage to escape the great Wildcat ? " they all bowed so low to_the little queen that_they almost stood upon their heads .

" this funny tin man," she answered, " killed the Wildcat and saved my life . so hereafter you_must all serve him, and obey his slightest wish ."

" we_will ! " cried all the mice, in a shrill chorus . and then they scampered in all directions, for Toto had awakened from_his sleep, and seeing all these mice around him he_gave one bark of delight and jumped right into_the middle of_the group .Toto had always loved to chase mice when he lived in Kansas, and he_saw no harm in_it .

but the tin woodman caught the dog in_his arms and held him tight, while he_called to_the mice, " come back ! come back ! Toto shall_not hurt you ."

at_this the queen of_the Mice stuck her head out from underneath a clump of grass and asked, in a timid voice, " are_you sure he_will_not bite us ? "

" i_will_not let him," said the woodman; " so do_not be afraid ."

one by one the mice came creeping back, and Toto did_not bark again, although he tried to_get out_of_the woodman's arms, and would_have bitten him had he not known very_well he was_made of tin . finally one_of_the biggest mice spoke .

" is_there anything we_can do," it asked, " to repay you for saving the life of_our queen ? "

" nothing that I_know of," answered the woodman; but the Scarecrow, who had_been trying to_think, but could_not because his head was stuffed with straw, said, quickly, "Oh, yes; you_can save our friend, the cowardly lion, who_is asleep in_the poppy bed ."

"A lion ! " cried the little queen ." why, he_would eat us all up ."

"Oh, no," declared the Scarecrow; " this lion is a coward ."

" really ? " asked the mouse .

" he_says so himself," answered the Scarecrow, " and he_would never hurt anyone who_is our friend . if_you_will help_us to save him I promise that he shall treat you all with kindness ."

" very_well," said the queen, " we trust you . but what shall we_do ? "

" are there many_of_these mice which call you queen and_are willing to obey you ? "

"Oh, yes; there_are thousands," she replied .

" then send for_them all to_come here as_soon_as_possible, and let each_one bring a long piece of string ."

the queen turned to_the mice that attended her and told them to_go at once and get all her people . as_soon_as they heard her orders they ran away in every direction as fast as possible .

" now," said the Scarecrow to_the tin woodman, " you_must go to_those trees by_the riverside and make a truck that_will carry the lion ."

so the woodman went at once to_the trees and began to work; and he soon made a truck out_of_the limbs of trees, from_which he chopped away all the leaves and branches . he fastened it together with wooden pegs and made the four wheels out of short pieces of a big tree trunk . so fast and so_well did he work that by_the_time the mice began to arrive the truck was all ready for_them .

they came from all directions, and there were thousands of_them: big mice and little mice and middle- sized mice; and each_one brought a piece of string in_his mouth . it_was about_this_time that Dorothy woke from her long sleep and opened her eyes . she was greatly astonished to_find herself lying upon_the grass, with thousands of mice standing around and looking at her timidly . but the Scarecrow told her about everything, and turning to_the dignified little mouse, he_said:

" permit me to introduce to_you her majesty, the queen ."

Dorothy nodded gravely and_the queen made acurtsy, after which she became quite friendly with_the little girl .

the Scarecrow and_the woodman now began to fasten the mice to_the truck, using the strings they had brought . one end of a string was tied around the neck of each mouse and_the other end to_the truck . of_course the truck was a thousand times bigger than any of_the mice who were to draw it; but when all the mice had_been harnessed, they were able to pull it quite easily . even the Scarecrow and_the tin woodman could sit on_it, and were drawn swiftly by their queer little horses to_the place where the lion lay asleep .

after a great deal of hard work, for_the lion was heavy, they managed to_get him up on_the truck . then the queen hurriedly gave her people the order to start, for she feared if_the mice stayed among_the poppies too long they also would fall asleep .

at first the little creatures, many though they were, could hardly stir the heavily loaded truck; but the woodman and_the Scarecrow both pushed from behind, and_they got along better . soon they rolled the lion out_of_the poppy bed to_the green fields, where he_could breathe the sweet, fresh air again, instead of_the poisonous scent of_the flowers .

Dorothy came to meet them and thanked the little mice warmly for saving her companion from death . she had grown so fond of_the big lion she was glad he had_been rescued .

then the mice were unharnessed from_the truck and scampered away through_the grass to_their homes . the queen of_the Mice was_the last to leave .

" if ever you_need us again," she said, " come out into_the field and call, and we_shall hear you and come to your assistance . good-bye ! "

" good-bye ! " they all answered, and away the queen ran, while Dorothy held Toto tightly lest he_should run after her and frighten her .

after_this they sat down beside the lion until he_should awaken; and_the Scarecrow brought Dorothy some fruit from a tree near by, which she ate for her dinner .

10 . the guardian of_the gate

it_was some_time before_the cowardly lion awakened, for he had lain among_the poppies a long while, breathing in their deadly fragrance; but when he_did open his eyes and roll off the truck he_was very_glad to_find himself still alive .

"I ran as fast as I_could," he_said, sitting down and yawning, " but the flowers were too strong for_me . how did you get me out ? "

then they told him of_the field mice, and how they had generously saved him from death; and_the cowardly lion laughed, and said:

" I_have always thought myself very big and terrible; yet such little things as flowers came near to killing me, and such small animals as mice have saved my life . how strange it all is ! but, comrades, what shall we_do now ? "

" we_must journey on until we_find the road of yellow brick again," said Dorothy, " and then we_can keep on to_the emerald city ."

so, the lion being fully refreshed, and feeling quite himself again, they all started upon_the journey, greatly enjoying the walk through_the soft, fresh grass; and it_was not long before_they reached the road of yellow brick and turned again toward the emerald city where the great Oz dwelt .

the road was smooth and well paved, now, and_the country about was beautiful, so that_the travelers rejoiced in leaving the forest far behind, and with it the many dangers they had met in its gloomy shades . once more they_could see fences built beside the road; but these were painted green, and when_they came to a small house, in_which a farmer evidently lived, that also was painted green . they passed by several of_these houses during the afternoon, and sometimes people came to_the doors and looked at them as if_they_would like to ask questions; but no one came near them nor spoke to_them because of_the great lion, of_which they were very_much afraid . the people were all dressed in clothing of a lovely emerald- green color and wore peaked hats like those of_the Munchkins .

" this must_be the land of Oz," said Dorothy, " and we_are surely getting near the emerald city ."

" yes," answered the Scarecrow ." everything is green here, while in_the country of_the Munchkins blue was_the favorite color . but the people do_not seem_to_be as friendly as_the Munchkins, and I'm afraid we_shall_be unable to_find a place to_pass the night ."

" i_should like something to eat besides fruit," said the girl, " and I'm sure Toto is nearly starved . let_us stop at_the next house and talk to_the people ."

so, when_they came to a good- sized farmhouse, Dorothy walked boldly up_to_the door and knocked .

a woman opened it just far enough to look out, and said, " what do_you_want, child, and why is_that great lion with_you ? "

" we_wish to_pass the night with_you, if_you_will allow us," answered Dorothy; " and_the lion is my friend and comrade, and would_not hurt you for_the world ."

" is he tame ? " asked the woman, opening the door a little wider .

"Oh, yes," said the girl, " and he_is a great coward, too . he_will_be more afraid of you than you_are of him ."

" well," said the woman, after thinking it over and taking another peep at_the lion, " if that_is_the case you_may come in, and_I_will give_you some supper and a place to sleep ."

so they all entered the house, where there were, besides the woman, two children and a man . the man had hurt his leg, and was lying on_the couch in a corner . they seemed greatly surprised to_see so strange a company, and while the woman was busy laying the table the man asked:

" where are_you all going ? "

" to_the emerald city," said Dorothy, " to_see the great Oz ."

"Oh, indeed ! " exclaimed the man ." are_you sure that Oz will see you ? "

" why_not ? " she replied .

" why, it_is said that he never lets anyone come into his presence . I_have_been to_the emerald city many_times, and it_is a beautiful and wonderful place; but I_have never been permitted to_see the great Oz, nor do I_know of any living person who has seen him ."

"Does he never go out ? " asked the Scarecrow .

" never . he sits day after day in_the great throne room of_his palace, and even those who wait upon him do_not_see him face_to_face ."

" what_is he like ? " asked the girl .

" that_is hard to_tell," said the man thoughtfully ." you_see, Oz is a great wizard, and can take on any form he wishes . so_that some say he looks like a bird; and some say he looks like an elephant; and some say he looks like acat . to others he appears as a beautiful

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