Chapter VIII
The Deadly Poppy Field
Our little party of travelers awakened the next morning refreshed and full
of hope, and Dorothy breakfasted like a princess off peaches and plums from
the trees beside the river. Behind them was the dark forest they had passed
safely through, although they had suffered many discouragements; but before
them was a lovely, sunny country that seemed to beckon them on to the
Emerald City.
To be sure, the broad river now cut them off from this beautiful land. But
the raft was nearly done, and after the Tin Woodman had cut a few more logs
and fastened them together with wooden pins, they were ready to start.
Dorothy sat down in the middle of the raft and held Toto in her arms. When
the Cowardly Lion stepped upon the raft it tipped badly, for he was big and
heavy; but the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman stood upon the other end to
steady it, and they had long poles in their hands to push the raft through the
water.
They got along quite well at first, but when they reached the middle of the
river the swift current swept the raft downstream, farther and farther away
from the road of yellow brick. And the water grew so deep that the long
poles would not touch the bottom.
“This is bad,” said the Tin Woodman, “for if we cannot get to the land we
shall be carried into the country of the Wicked Witch of the West, and she
will enchant us and make us her slaves.”
“And then I should get no brains,” said the Scarecrow.
“And I should get no courage,” said the Cowardly Lion.
“And I should get no heart,” said the Tin Woodman.
“And I should never get back to Kansas,” said Dorothy.
“We must certainly get to the Emerald City if we can,” the Scarecrow
continued, and he pushed so hard on his long pole that it stuck fast in the mud
at the bottom of the river. Then, before he could pull it out again—or let go—
the raft was swept away, and the poor Scarecrow was left clinging to the
pole in the middle of the river.
“Good-bye!” he called after them, and they were very sorry to leave him.
Indeed, the Tin Woodman began to cry, but fortunately remembered that he
might rust, and so dried his tears on Dorothy’s apron.
Of course this was a bad thing for the Scarecrow.
“I am now worse off than when I first met Dorothy,” he thought. “Then, I
was stuck on a pole in a cornfield, where I could make-believe scare the
crows, at any rate. But surely there is no use for a Scarecrow stuck on a pole
in the middle of a river. I am afraid I shall never have any brains, after all!”
Down the stream the raft floated, and the poor Scarecrow was left far
behind. Then the Lion said:
“Something must be done to save us. I think I can swim to the shore and
pull the raft after me, if you will only hold fast to the tip of my tail.”
So he sprang into the water, and the Tin Woodman caught fast hold of his
tail. Then the Lion began to swim with all his might toward the shore. It was
hard work, although he was so big; but by and by they were drawn out of the
current, and then Dorothy took the Tin Woodman’s long pole and helped push
the raft to the land.
They were all tired out when they reached the shore at last and stepped off
upon the pretty green grass, and they also knew that the stream had carried
them a long way past the road of yellow brick that led to the Emerald City.
“What shall we do now?” asked the Tin Woodman, as the Lion lay down
on the grass to let the sun dry him.
“We must get back to the road, in some way,” said Dorothy.
“The best plan will be to walk along the riverbank until we come to the
road again,” remarked the Lion.
So, when they were rested, Dorothy picked up her basket and they started
along the grassy bank, to the road from which the river had carried them. It
was a lovely country, with plenty of flowers and fruit trees and sunshine to
cheer them, and had they not felt so sorry for the poor Scarecrow, they could
have been very happy.
They walked along as fast as they could, Dorothy only stopping once to
pick a beautiful flower; and after a time the Tin Woodman cried out: “Look!”
Then they all looked at the river and saw the Scarecrow perched upon his
pole in the middle of the water, looking very lonely and sad.
“What can we do to save him?” asked Dorothy.
The Lion and the Woodman both shook their heads, for they did not know.
So they sat down upon the bank and gazed wistfully at the Scarecrow until a
Stork flew by, who, upon seeing them, stopped to rest at the water’s edge.
“Who are you and where are you going?” asked the Stork.
“I am Dorothy,” answered the girl, “and these are my friends, the Tin
Woodman and the Cowardly Lion; and we are going to the Emerald City.”
“This isn’t the road,” said the Stork, as she twisted her long neck and
looked sharply at the queer party.
“I know it,” returned Dorothy, “but we have lost the Scarecrow, and are
wondering how we shall get him again.”
“Where is he?” asked the Stork.
“Over there in the river,” answered the little girl.
“If he wasn’t so big and heavy I would get him for you,” remarked the
Stork.
“He isn’t heavy a bit,” said Dorothy eagerly, “for he is stuffed with straw;
and if you will bring him back to us, we shall thank you ever and ever so
much.”
“Well, I’ll try,” said the Stork, “but if I find he is too heavy to carry I shall
have to drop him in the river again.”
So the big bird flew into the air and over the water till she came to where
the Scarecrow was perched upon his pole. Then the Stork with her great
claws grabbed the Scarecrow by the arm and carried him up into the air and
back to the bank, where Dorothy and the Lion and the Tin Woodman and Toto
were sitting.
When the Scarecrow found himself among his friends again, he was so
happy that he hugged them all, even the Lion and Toto; and as they walked
along he sang “Tol-de-ri-de-oh!” at every step, he felt so gay.
“I was afraid I should have to stay in the river forever,” he said, “but the
kind Stork saved me, and if I ever get any brains I shall find the Stork again
and do her some kindness in return.”
“That’s all right,” said the Stork, who was flying along beside them. “I
always like to help anyone in trouble. But I must go now, for my babies are
waiting in the nest for me. I hope you will find the Emerald City and that Oz
will help you.”
“Thank you,” replied Dorothy, and then the kind Stork flew into the air and
was soon out of sight.
They walked along listening to the singing of the brightly colored birds
and looking at the lovely flowers which now became so thick that the ground
was carpeted with them. There were big yellow and white and blue and
purple blossoms, besides great clusters of scarlet poppies, which were so
brilliant in color they almost dazzled Dorothy’s eyes.
“Aren’t they beautiful?” the girl asked, as she breathed in the spicy scent
of the bright flowers.
“I suppose so,” answered the Scarecrow. “When I have brains, I shall
probably like them better.”
“If I only had a heart, I should love them,” added the Tin Woodman.
“I always did like flowers,” said the Lion. “They seem so helpless and
frail. But there are none in the forest so bright as these.”
They now came upon more and more of the big scarlet poppies, and fewer
and fewer of the other flowers; and soon they found themselves in the midst
of a great meadow of poppies. Now it is well known that when there are
many of these flowers together their odor is so powerful that anyone who
breathes it falls asleep, and if the sleeper is not carried away from the scent
of the flowers, he sleeps on and on forever. But Dorothy did not know this,
nor could she get away from the bright red flowers that were everywhere
about; so presently her eyes grew heavy and she felt she must sit down to rest
and to sleep.
But the Tin Woodman would not let her do this.
“We must hurry and get back to the road of yellow brick before dark,” he
said; and the Scarecrow agreed with him. So they kept walking until Dorothy
could stand no longer. Her eyes closed in spite of herself and she forgot
where she was and fell among the poppies, fast asleep.
“What shall we do?” asked the Tin Woodman.
“If we leave her here she will die,” said the Lion. “The smell of the
flowers is killing us all. I myself can scarcely keep my eyes open, and the
dog is asleep already.”
It was true; Toto had fallen down beside his little mistress. But the
Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman, not being made of flesh, were not troubled
by the scent of the flowers.
“Run fast,” said the Scarecrow to the Lion, “and get out of this deadly
flower bed as soon as you can. We will bring the little girl with us, but if you
should fall asleep you are too big to be carried.”
So the Lion aroused himself and bounded forward as fast as he could go.
In a moment he was out of sight.
“Let us make a chair with our hands and carry her,” said the Scarecrow.
So they picked up Toto and put the dog in Dorothy’s lap, and then they made
a chair with their hands for the seat and their arms for the arms and carried
the sleeping girl between them through the flowers.
On and on they walked, and it seemed that the great carpet of deadly
flowers that surrounded them would never end. They followed the bend of
the river, and at last came upon their friend the Lion, lying fast 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.
