Button-Bright."
"Well," announced the shaggy man, "it's my turn next." He took off his
shaggy coat and laid it on the grass and dived head first into the Truth
Pond.
[Illustration]
When he came up the donkey head had disappeared, and the shaggy man's
own shaggy head was in its place, with the water dripping in little
streams from his shaggy whiskers. He scrambled ashore and shook himself
to get off some of the wet, and then leaned over the pool to look
admiringly at his reflected face.
"I may not be strictly beautiful, even now," he said to his companions,
who watched him with smiling faces; "but I'm so much handsomer than any
donkey that I feel as proud as I can be."
"You're all right, Shaggy Man," declared Dorothy. "And Button-Bright is
all right, too. So let's thank the Truth Pond for being so nice, and
start on our journey to the Emerald City."
"I hate to leave it," murmured the shaggy man, with a sigh. "A truth
pond wouldn't be a bad thing to carry around with us." But he put on his
coat and started with the others in search of some one to direct them on
their way.
Tik-Tok and Billina
[Illustration]
They had not walked far across the flower-strewn meadows when they came
upon a fine road leading toward the northwest and winding gracefully
among the pretty yellow hills.
"That way," said Dorothy, "must be the direction of the Emerald City.
We'd better follow the road until we meet some one or come to a house."
The sun soon dried Button-Bright's sailor suit and the shaggy man's
shaggy clothes, and so pleased were they at regaining their own heads
that they did not mind at all the brief discomfort of getting wet.
"It's good to be able to whistle again," remarked the shaggy man, "for
those donkey lips were so thick I could not whistle a note with them."
He warbled a tune as merrily as any bird.
"You'll look more natural at the birthday celebration, too," said
Dorothy, happy in seeing her friends so happy.
Polychrome was dancing ahead in her usual sprightly manner, whirling
gaily along the smooth, level road, until she passed from sight around
the curve of one of the mounds. Suddenly they heard her exclaim "Oh!"
and she appeared again, running toward them at full speed.
"What's the matter, Polly?" asked Dorothy, perplexed.
There was no need for the Rainbow's Daughter to answer, for turning the
bend in the road there came advancing slowly toward them a funny round
man made of burnished copper, gleaming brightly in the sun. Perched on
the copper man's shoulder sat a yellow hen, with fluffy feathers and a
pearl necklace around her throat.
"Oh, Tik-tok!" cried Dorothy, running forward. When she came to him the
copper man lifted the little girl in his copper arms and kissed her
cheek with his copper lips.
"Oh, Billina!" cried Dorothy, in a glad voice, and the yellow hen flew
to her arms, to be hugged and petted by turns.
The others were curiously crowding around the group, and the girl said
to them:
"It's Tik-tok and Billina; and oh! I'm so glad to see them again."
"Wel-come to Oz," said the copper man, in a monotonous voice.
[Illustration]
Dorothy sat right down in the road, the yellow hen in her arms, and
began to stroke Billina's back. Said the hen:
"Dorothy, dear, I've some wonderful news to tell you."
"Tell it quick, Billina!" said the girl.
Just then Toto, who had been growling to himself in a cross way gave a
sharp bark and flew at the yellow hen, who ruffled her feathers and let
out such an angry screech that Dorothy was startled.
"Stop, Toto! Stop that this minute!" she commanded. "Can't you see that
Billina is my friend?" In spite of this warning had she not grabbed
Toto quickly by the neck the little dog would have done the yellow hen a
mischief, and even now he struggled madly to escape Dorothy's grasp. She
slapped his cars once or twice and told him to behave, and the yellow
hen flew to Tik-tok's shoulder again, where she was safe.
"What a brute!" croaked Billina, glaring down at the little dog.
"Toto isn't a brute," replied Dorothy; "but at home Uncle Henry has to
whip him sometimes for chasing the chickens. Now, look here, Toto," she
added, holding up her finger and speaking sternly to him, "you've got to
understand that Billina is one of my dearest friends, and mustn't be
hurt--now or ever."
Toto wagged his tail as if he understood.
"The miserable thing can't talk," said Billina, with a sneer.
"Yes, he can," replied Dorothy; "he talks with his tail, and I know
everything he says. If you could wag your tail, Billina, you wouldn't
need words to talk with."
"Nonsense!" said Billina.
"It isn't nonsense at all. Just now Toto says he's sorry, and that he'll
try to love you for my sake. Don't you, Toto?"
"Bow-wow!" said Toto, wagging his tail again.
"But I've such wonderful news for you; Dorothy," cried the yellow hen;
"I've----"
"Wait a minute, dear," interrupted the little girl; "I've got to
introduce you all, first. That's manners, Billina. This," turning to her
traveling companions, "is Mr. Tik-tok, who works by machinery, 'cause
his thoughts wind up, and his talk winds up, and his action winds
up--like a clock."
"Do they all wind up together?" asked the shaggy man.
"No; each one separate. But he works just lovely, and Tik-tok was a good
friend to me once, and saved my life--and Billina's life, too."
"Is he alive?" asked Button-Bright, looking hard at the copper man.
"Oh, no, but his machinery makes him just as good as alive." She turned
to the copper man and said politely: "Mr. Tik-tok, these are my new
friends: the shaggy man, and Polly the Rainbow's Daughter, and
Button-Bright, and Toto. Only Toto isn't a new friend, 'cause he's been
to Oz before."
The copper man bowed low, removing his copper hat as he did so.
"I'm ve-ry pleased to meet Dor-o-thy's fr-r-r-r-r----"
Here he stopped short.
"Oh, I guess his speech needs winding!" said the little girl, running
behind the copper man to get the key off a hook at his back. She wound
him up at a place under his right arm and he went on to say:
"Par-don me for run-ning down. I was a-bout to say I am pleased to meet
Dor-o-thy's friends, who must be my friends." The words were somewhat
jerky, but plain to understand.
"And this is Billina," continued Dorothy, introducing the yellow hen,
and they all bowed to her in turn.
"I've such wonderful news," said the hen, turning her head so that one
bright eye looked full at Dorothy.
"What is it, dear?" asked the girl.
"I've hatched out ten of the loveliest chicks 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-gobble 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.
[Illustration]
"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 'is 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 a hilltop 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 a lot 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."
[Illustration]
The Emperor's Tin Castle
[Illustration]
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.
[Illustration]
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 others 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 a lot 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.
[Illustration: POLYCHROME DANCED GRACEFULLY TO THE MUSIC]
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.
[Illustration]
Visiting the Pumpkin-Field
[Illustration]
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 a
sewing-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.
[Illustration]
"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 April 9th.
She then went to the next stone, which read:
Here Lies the Mortal Part of
JACK PUMPKINHEAD
Which Spoiled October 2nd.
On the third stone were carved these words:
Here Lies the Mortal Part of
JACK PUMPKINHEAD
Which Spoiled January 24th.
"Poor Jack!" sighed Dorothy. "I'm sorry he had to die in three parts,
for I hoped to see him again."
"So you shall," declared the Tin Woodman, "since he is still alive. Come
with me to his house, for Jack is now a farmer and lives in this very
pumpkin field."
They walked over to a monstrous big, hollow pumpkin which had a door and
windows cut through the rind. There was a stovepipe running through the
stem, and six steps had been built leading up to the front door.
They walked up to this door and looked in. Seated on a bench was a man
clothed in a spotted shirt, a red vest, and faded blue trousers, whose
body was merely sticks of wood, jointed clumsily together. On his neck
was set a round, yellow pumpkin, with a face carved on it such as a boy
often carves on a jack-lantern.
This queer man was engaged in snapping slippery pumpkin-seeds with his
wooden fingers, trying to hit a target on the other side of the room
with them. He did not know he had visitors until Dorothy exclaimed:
"Why, it's Jack Pumpkinhead himself!"
He turned and saw them, and at once came forward to greet the little
Kansas girl and Nick Chopper, and to be introduced to their new friends.
Button-Bright was at first rather shy with the quaint Pumpkinhead, but
Jack's face was so jolly and smiling--being carved that way--that the
boy soon grew to like him.
"I thought, a while ago, that you were buried in three parts," said
Dorothy; "but now I see you're just the same as ever."
"Not quite the same, my dear, for my mouth is a little more one-sided
than it used to be; but pretty nearly the same. I've a new head, and
this is the fourth one I've owned since Ozma first made me and brought
me to life by sprinkling me with the Magic Powder."
"What became of the other heads, Jack?"
"They spoiled and I buried them, for they were not even fit for pies.
Each time Ozma has carved me a new head just like the old one, and as my
body is by far the largest part of me I am still Jack Pumpkinhead, no
matter how often I change my upper end. Once we had a dreadful time to
find another pumpkin, as they were out of season, and so I was obliged
to wear my old head a little longer than was strictly healthy. But after
this sad experience I resolved to raise pumpkins myself, so as never to
be caught again without one handy; and now I have this fine field that
you see before you. Some grow pretty big--too big to be used for
heads--so I dug out this one and use it for a house."
"Isn't it damp?" asked Dorothy.
"Not very. There isn't much left but the shell, you see, and it will
last a long time yet."
"I think you are brighter than you used to be, Jack," said the Tin
Woodman. "Your last head was a stupid one."
"The seeds in this one are better," was the reply.
"Are you going to Ozma's party?" asked Dorothy.
"Yes," said he; "I wouldn't miss it for anything. Ozma's my parent, you
know, because she built my body and carved my pumpkin head. I'll follow
you to the Emerald City to-morrow, where we shall meet again. I can't go
to-day, because I have to plant fresh pumpkin-seeds and water the young
vines. But give my love to Ozma, and tell her I'll be there in time for
the jubilation."
"We will," she promised; and then they all left him and resumed their
journey.
[Illustration]
The Royal Chariot Arrives
[Illustration]
The neat yellow houses of the Winkies were now to be seen standing here
and there along the roadway, giving the country a more cheerful and
civilized look. They were farm-houses, though, and set far apart; for in
the Land of Oz there were no towns or villages except the magnificent
Emerald City in its center.
Hedges of evergreen or of yellow roses bordered the broad highway and
the farms showed the care of their industrious inhabitants. The nearer
the travelers came to the great city the more prosperous the country
became, and they crossed many bridges over the sparkling streams and
rivulets that watered the lands.
As they walked leisurely along the shaggy man said to the Tin Woodman:
"What sort of a Magic Powder was it, that made your friend the
Pumpkinhead live?"