The Tin Woodman was one of the
most important personages in
all Oz. Though Emperor of the
Winkies, he owed allegiance to
Ozma, who ruled all the land,
and the girl and the tin man
were warm personal friends. He
was something of a dandy and
kept his tin body brilliantly
polished and his tin joints well
oiled. Also he was very courteous
in manner and so kind and gentle
that everyone loved him. The
Emperor greeted Ojo and Scraps
with cordial hospitality and
ushered the entire party into
his handsome tin parlor, where
all the furniture and pictures
were made of tin. The walls were
paneled with tin and from the
tin ceiling
hung tin chandeliers.
The Tin Woodman wanted to know,
first of all, where Dorothy had
found the Patchwork Girl, so
between them the visitors told
the story of how Scraps was made,
as well as the accident to Margolotte
and Unc Nunkie and how Ojo had
set out upon a journey to procure
the things needed for the Crooked
Magician's magic charm. Then
Dorothy told of their adventures
in the Quadling Country and how
at last they succeeded in getting
the water from a dark well.
While the little girl was relating
these adventures the Tin Woodman
sat in an easy chair listening
with intense interest, while
the others sat grouped around
him. Ojo, however, had kept his
eyes fixed upon the body of the
tin Emperor, and now he noticed
that under the joint of his left
knee a tiny drop of oil was forming.
He watched this drop of oil with
a fast-beating heart, and feeling
in his pocket brought out a tiny
vial of crystal, which he held
secreted in his hand.
Presently the Tin Woodman changed
his position, and at once Ojo,
to the astonishment of all, dropped
to the floor and held his crystal
vial under the Emperor's knee
joint. Just then the drop of
oil fell, and they boy caught
it in his bottle and immediately
corked it tight. Then, with a
red face and embarrassed manner,
he rose to confront the others.
"What in the world were you
doing?" asked the Tin Woodman.
"I caught a drop of oil that
fell from your knee-joint," confessed
Ojo.
"A drop of oil!" exclaimed
the Tin Woodman. "Dear me, how
careless my valet must have been
in oiling me this morning. I'm
afraid I shall have to scold
the fellow, for I can't be dropping
oil wherever I go."
"Never mind," said
Dorothy. Ojo seems glad to
have the oil,
for some reason."
"Yes," declared the Munchkin
boy, "I am glad. For one of the
things the Crooked Magician sent
me to get was a drop of oil from
a live man's body. I had no idea,
at first, that there was such
a thing; but it's now safe in
the little crystal vial."
"You are very welcome to it,
indeed," said the Tin Woodman. "Have
you now secured all the things
you were in search of?"
"Not quite all," answered Ojo. "There
were five things I had to get,
and I have found four of them.
I have the three hairs in the
tip of a Woozy's tail, a six-leaved
clover, a gill of water from
a dark well and a drop of oil
from a live man's body. The last
thing is the easiest of all to
get, and I'm sure that my dear
Unc Nunkie--and good Margolotte,
as well--will soon be restored
to life."
The Munchkin boy said this
with much pride and pleasure.
"Good!" exclaimed the Tin Woodman; "I
congratulate you. But what is
the fifth and last thing you
need, in order to complete the
magic charm?"
"The left wing of a yellow
butterfly," said Ojo. "In this
yellow country, and with your
kind assistance, that ought to
be very easy to find."
The Tin Woodman stared at him
in amazement.
"Surely you are joking!" he
said.
"No," replied Ojo, much surprised; "I
am in earnest."
"But do you think for a moment
that I would permit you, or anyone
else, to pull the left wing from
a yellow butterfly?" demanded
the Tin Woodman sternly.
"Why not, sir?"
"Why not? You ask me why not?
It would be cruel--one of the
most cruel and heartless deeds
I ever heard of," asserted the
Tin Woodman. "The butterflies
are among the prettiest of all
created things, and they are
very sensitive to pain. To tear
a wing from one would cause it
exquisite torture and it would
soon die in great agony. I would
not permit such a wicked deed
under any circumstances!"
Ojo was astounded at hearing
this. Dorothy, too, looked grave
and disconcerted, but she knew
in her heart that the Tin Woodman
was right. The Scarecrow nodded
his head in approval of his friend's
speech, so it was evident that
he agreed with the Emperor's
decision. Scraps looked from
one to another in perplexity.
"Who cares for a butterfly?" she
asked.
"Don't you?" inquired
the Tin Woodman.
"Not the snap of a finger,
for I have no heart," said the
Patchwork Girl. "But I want to
help Ojo, who is my friend, to
rescue the uncle whom he loves,
and I'd kill a dozen useless
butterflies to enable him to
do that."
The Tin Woodman sighed regretfully.
"You have kind instincts," he
said, "and with a heart you would
indeed be a fine creature. I
cannot blame you for your heartless
remark, as you cannot understand
the feelings of those who possess
hearts. I, for instance, have
a very neat and responsive heart
which the wonderful Wizard of
Oz once gave me, and so I shall
never--never-- never permit a
poor yellow butterfly to be tortured
by anyone."
"The yellow country of the
Winkies," said Ojo sadly, "is
the only place in Oz where a
yellow butterfly can be found."
"I'm glad of that," said the
Tin Woodman. "As I rule the Winkie
Country, I can protect my butterflies."
Unless I get
the wing--just one left wing--" said Ojo miserably, "I
can't save Unc Nunkie."
"Then he must remain a marble
statue forever," declared the
Tin Emperor, firmly.
Ojo wiped his eyes, for he
could not hold back the tears.
"I'll tell you what to do," said
Scraps. "We'll take a whole yellow
butterfly, alive and well, to
the Crooked Magician, and let
him pull the left wing off."
"No, you won't," said the Tin
Woodman. "You can't have one
of my dear little butterflies
to treat in that way.
"Then what in the world shall
we do?" asked Dorothy.
They all became silent and
thoughtful. No one spoke for
a long time. Then the Tin Woodman
suddenly roused himself and said:
"We must all
go back to the Emerald City
and ask Ozma's advice.
She's a wise little girl, our
Ruler, and she may find a way
to help Ojo save his Unc Nunkie."
So the following morning the
party started on the journey
to the Emerald City, which they
reached in due time without any
important adventure. It was a
sad journey for Ojo, for without
the wing of the yellow butterfly
he saw no way to save Unc Nunkie--unless
he waited six years for the Crooked
Magician to make a new lot of
the Powder of Life. The boy was
utterly discouraged, and as he
walked along he groaned aloud.
"Is anything hurting you?" inquired
the Tin Woodman in a kindly tone,
for the Emperor was with the
party.
"I'm Ojo the Unlucky," replied
the boy. "I might have known
I would fail in anything I tried
to do."
"Why are you Ojo the Unlucky?" asked
the tin man.
"Because I
was born on a Friday."
"Friday is not unlucky," declared
the Emperor. "It's just one of
seven days. Do you suppose all
the world becomes unlucky one-seventh
of the time?"
"It was the thirteenth day
of the month," said Ojo.
"Thirteen! Ah, that is indeed
a lucky number," replied the
Tin Woodman. "All my good luck
seems to happen on the thirteenth.
I suppose most people never notice
the good luck that comes to them
with the number 13, and yet if
the least bit of bad luck falls
on that day, they blame it to
the number, and not to the proper
cause."
"Thirteen's my lucky number,
too," remarked the Scarecrow
"And mine," said Scraps. "I've
just thirteen patches on my head."
"But," continued Ojo, "I'm
left-handed."
"Many of our greatest men are
that way," asserted the Emperor. "To
be left-handed is usually to
be two-handed; the right-handed
people are usually one-handed."
"And I've a wart under my right
arm," said Ojo.
"How lucky!" cried the Tin
Woodman. "If it were on the end
of your nose it might be unlucky,
but under your arm it is luckily
out of the way."
"For all those reasons," said
the Munchkin boy, "I have been
called Ojo the Unlucky."
"Then we must turn over a new
leaf and call you henceforth
Ojo the Lucky," declared the
tin man. "Every reason you have
given is absurd. But I have noticed
that those who continually dread
ill luck and fear it will overtake
them, have no time to take advantage
of any good fortune that comes
their way. Make up your mind
to be Ojo the Lucky."
"How can I?" asked the boy, "when
all my attempts to save my dear
uncle have failed?"
"Never give up, Ojo," advised
Dorothy. "No one ever knows what's
going to happen next."
Ojo did not reply, but he was
so dejected that even their arrival
at the Emerald City failed to
interest him.
The people joyfully cheered
the appearance of the Tin Woodman,
the Scarecrow and Dorothy, who
were all three general favorites,
and on entering the royal palace
word came to them from Ozma that
she would at once grant them
an audience.
Dorothy told the girl Ruler
how successful they had been
in their quest until they came
to the item of the yellow butterfly,
which the Tin Woodman positively
refused to sacrifice to the magic
potion.
"He is quite right," said Ozma,
who did not seem a bit surprised. "Had
Ojo told me that one of the things
he sought was the wing of a yellow
butterfly I would have informed
him, before he started out, that
he could never secure it. Then
you would have been saved the
troubles and annoyances of your
long journey."
"I didn't mind the journey
at all," said Dorothy; "it was
fun."
"As it has turned out," remarked
Ojo, "I can never get the things
the Crooked Magician sent me
for; and so, unless I wait the
six years for him to make the
Powder of Life, Unc Nunkie cannot
be saved."
Ozma smiled.
"Dr. Pipt will make no more
Powder of Life, I promise you," said
she. "I have sent for him and
had him brought to this palace,
where he now is, and his four
kettles have been destroyed and
his book of recipes burned up.
I have also had brought here
the marble statues of your uncle
and of Margolotte, which are
standing in the next room.
They were all greatly astonished
at this announcement.
"Oh, let me see Unc Nunkie!
Let me see him at once, please!" cried
Ojo eagerly.
"Wait a moment," replied Ozma, "for
I have something more to say.
Nothing that happens in the Land
of Oz escapes the notice of our
wise Sorceress, Glinda the Good.
She knew all about the magic-making
of Dr. Pipt, and how he had brought
the Glass Cat and the Patchwork
Girl to life, and the accident
to Unc Nunkie and Margolotte,
and of Ojo's quest and his journey
with Dorothy. Glinda also knew
that Ojo would fail to find all
the things he sought, so she
sent for our Wizard and instructed
him what to do. Something is
going to happen in this palace,
presently, and that 'something'
will, I am sure, please you all.
And now," continued the girl
Ruler, rising from her chair, "you
may follow me into the next room."
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