The Cowardly Lion was much pleased
to hear that the Wicked Witch
had been melted by a bucket of
water, and Dorothy at once unlocked
the gate of his prison and set
him free. They went in together
to the castle, where Dorothy's
first act was to call all the
Winkies together and tell them
that they were no longer slaves.
There was great rejoicing among
the yellow Winkies, for they
had been made to work hard during
many years for the Wicked Witch,
who had always treated them with
great cruelty. They kept this
day as a holiday, then and ever
after, and spent the time in
feasting and dancing.
"If our friends, the Scarecrow
and the Tin Woodman, were only
with us," said the Lion, "I should
be quite happy."
"Don't you suppose we could
rescue them?" asked the girl
anxiously.
"We can try," answered
the Lion.
So they called the yellow Winkies
and asked them if they would
help to rescue their friends,
and the Winkies said that they
would be delighted to do all
in their power for Dorothy, who
had set them free from bondage.
So she chose a number of the
Winkies who looked as if they
knew the most, and they all started
away. They traveled that day
and part of the next until they
came to the rocky plain where
the Tin Woodman lay, all battered
and bent. His axe was near him,
but the blade was rusted and
the handle broken off short.
The Winkies lifted him tenderly
in their arms, and carried him
back to the Yellow Castle again,
Dorothy shedding a few tears
by the way at the sad plight
of her old friend, and the Lion
looking sober and sorry. When
they reached the castle Dorothy
said to the Winkies:
"Are any of
your people tinsmiths?"
"Oh, yes. Some of us are very
good tinsmiths," they told her.
"Then bring them to me," she
said. And when the tinsmiths
came, bringing with them all
their tools in baskets, she inquired, "Can
you straighten out those dents
in the Tin Woodman, and bend
him back into shape again, and
solder him together where he
is broken?"
The tinsmiths looked the Woodman
over carefully and then answered
that they thought they could
mend him so he would be as good
as ever. So they set to work
in one of the big yellow rooms
of the castle and worked for
three days and four nights, hammering
and twisting and bending and
soldering and polishing and pounding
at the legs and body and head
of the Tin Woodman, until at
last he was straightened out
into his old form, and his joints
worked as well as ever. To be
sure, there were several patches
on him, but the tinsmiths did
a good job, and as the Woodman
was not a vain man he did not
mind the patches at all.
When, at last, he walked into
Dorothy's room and thanked her
for rescuing him, he was so pleased
that he wept tears of joy, and
Dorothy had to wipe every tear
carefully from his face with
her apron, so his joints would
not be rusted. At the same time
her own tears fell thick and
fast at the joy of meeting her
old friend again, and these tears
did not need to be wiped away.
As for the Lion, he wiped his
eyes so often with the tip of
his tail that it became quite
wet, and he was obliged to go
out into the courtyard and hold
it in the sun till it dried.
"If we only had the Scarecrow
with us again," said the Tin
Woodman, when Dorothy had finished
telling him everything that had
happened, "I should be quite
happy."
"We must try to find him," said
the girl.
So she called the Winkies to
help her, and they walked all
that day and part of the next
until they came to the tall tree
in the branches of which the
Winged Monkeys had tossed the
carecrow's clothes.
It was a very
tall tree, and the trunk was
so smooth that
no one could climb it; but the
Woodman said at once, "I'll chop
it down, and then we can get
the Scarecrow's clothes."
Now while the tinsmiths had
been at work mending the Woodman
himself, another of the Winkies,
who was a goldsmith, had made
an axe-handle of solid gold and
fitted it to the Woodman's axe,
instead of the old broken handle.
Others polished the blade until
all the rust was removed and
it glistened like burnished silver.
As soon as he had spoken, the
Tin Woodman began to chop, and
in a short time the tree fell
over with a crash, whereupon
the Scarecrow's clothes fell
out of the branches and rolled
off on the ground.
Dorothy picked them up and
had the Winkies carry them back
to the castle, where they were
stuffed with nice, clean straw;
and behold! here was the Scarecrow,
as good as ever, thanking them
over and over again for saving
him.
Now that they were reunited,
Dorothy and her friends spent
a few happy days at the Yellow
Castle, where they found everything
they needed to make them comfortable.
But one day
the girl thought of Aunt Em,
and said, "We must
go back to Oz, and claim his
promise."
"Yes," said the Woodman, "at
last I shall get my heart."
"And I shall get my brains," added
the Scarecrow joyfully.
"And I shall get my courage," said
the Lion thoughtfully.
"And I shall get back to Kansas," cried
Dorothy, clapping her hands. "Oh,
let us start for the Emerald
City tomorrow!"
This they decided to do. The
next day they called the Winkies
together and bade them good-bye.
The Winkies were sorry to have
them go, and they had grown so
fond of the Tin Woodman that
they begged him to stay and rule
over them and the Yellow Land
of the West. Finding they were
determined to go, the Winkies
gave Toto and the Lion each a
golden collar; and to Dorothy
they presented a beautiful bracelet
studded with diamonds; and to
the Scarecrow they gave a gold-headed
walking stick, to keep him from
stumbling; and to the Tin Woodman
they offered a silver oil-can,
inlaid with gold and set with
precious jewels.
Every one of the travelers
made the Winkies a pretty speech
in return, and all shook hands
with them until their arms ached.
Dorothy went to the Witch's
cupboard to fill her basket with
food for the journey, and there
she saw the Golden Cap. She tried
it on her own head and found
that it fitted her exactly. She
did not know anything about the
charm of the Golden Cap, but
she saw that it was pretty, so
she made up her mind to wear
it and carry her sunbonnet in
the basket.
Then, being prepared for the
journey, they all started for
the Emerald City; and the Winkies
gave them three cheers and many
good wishes to carry with them.
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