"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
rightly" target="_blank" title="ad.明亮地;聪明地">
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