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 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 of 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.
第8章送命的紅色花床
第二天清晨，他們都醒了過來，重新振作起精神。多蘿茜吃著從樹上摘下的桃子和梅子，回想著他們旅程的種種艱辛，再危險的地方也沒有難倒他們，想著想著，似乎翡翠城已經(jīng)張開了它的翅膀，歡迎著他們，一點點困難又算得了什么呢。
當(dāng)然，這條寬闊的河，暫時把他們和美麗的地方隔開了；然而木筏快要完成了，在鐵皮人把砍下的木段，用木釘釘緊后，他們就準備動身了。
多蘿茜把托托抱在臂灣里，坐在木筏中央。當(dāng)膽小的獅子一步步地踩上這木筏時，木筏搖晃起來，因為它又大又重；幸虧有稻草人和鐵皮人，站在相對的那一邊，穩(wěn)住了木筏。他們每人握著長桿，撐著木筏在河面行進著。
開始，他們還很順利，當(dāng)他們到達河中央，猛烈的急流卻把木筏沖向下流去，他們眼看著離開黃磚路越來越遠了；水也越來越深，使得長木桿觸不到河底。
“糟了，”鐵皮人說，“假如我們被急流繼續(xù)往下游沖的話，我們會被帶到西方壞女巫的國土，她就會向我們施妖術(shù)，讓我們作她的奴隸�！�
“這樣我就不可能得到腦子了，”稻草人說。
“我得不到膽量了，”小膽?yīng){說。
“我得不到心了，”鐵皮人說。
“我永遠也回不到家鄉(xiāng)了，”多蘿茜說。
“如果我們竭盡全力的話，一定能夠到達河對岸的，”稻草人鼓舞地說。
他極力撐著長桿，把它插到了河底的淤泥里，在他把木桿拔出來，或者干脆丟掉它以前，木筏已被急流沖走了；可憐的稻草人，他只能抱緊插在河中央的木桿，被留下來吊了起來。
“再會了！”他在他們的后面?zhèn)牡暮爸?br>他們丟了一個伙伴，覺得很難受；的確是這樣，鐵皮人開始哭了，然而幸虧他記得他會發(fā)銹了，便在多蘿茜的圍裙上抹掉了眼淚。
無疑，這對于稻草人是一件不幸的事情。
“現(xiàn)在我比當(dāng)初遇見多蘿茜的時候更糟了，”他想�！半m然，我被吊起在稻田晨的竹竿上，不管怎么說，在那里我還是偽裝著一個人，嚇走烏鴉們，但是在這里，一個稻草人戳起在河中的一根木桿子，是根本沒有用處的。我將永遠得不到腦子了！”
急流繼續(xù)把木筏向下沖，可憐的稻草人，遠遠地落在他們后面。
獅子說：“我們必須想法子，否則，只有死路一條。我愿意游到河岸邊，把木筏拖在我的后面，只要你們拉緊我的尾巴。”
獅子就奮力跳入水中，當(dāng)它用全身的力量游向河對岸時，鐵皮人抓緊它的尾巴，獅子身體這么大，對他也是艱難的工作，他們擺脫了這股急流。多蘿茜拿起鐵皮人的長木桿，把木筏推向岸邊去。
終于，他們到達了岸邊，一步步踏上那美麗的綠草地時，都累極了，并且知道急流帶他們走了很長段路，遠離了到翡翠城去的黃磚路。
獅子躺在草地上，曬太陽，鐵皮人問：“下一步我們要做些什么？”
“不管怎么樣，我們一定要回到黃磚路上去，”多蘿茜說。
獅子說：“是沿著河岸走，就可以走回黃磚路了�！�
當(dāng)他們休息夠了，多蘿茜便提起她的籃子，沿著長滿雜草的堤岸動身，那是一個可愛的地方，有開遍山野的花朵和掛滿枝頭的果子，太陽光溫暖地灑在他們身上，如果他們不是想到，稻草人還掛在水中央的桿上，他們將非常的快樂了。
他們盡快地向前走，為朋友而擔(dān)憂，無心欣賞面前的美景。
多蘿茜也只停了一次，去摘取一朵美麗的花；走了一會兒，鐵皮人大聲喊了出來：“看呀！”
他們一起向河里望去，看見稻草人孤零零地抱著插在河中的木桿上，非常沮喪而難過。
多蘿茜問：“我們用什么辦法救出他？”
獅子和鐵皮人無奈地搖了搖他們的頭，就在岸灘上坐下來，憂愁地盯著稻草人，后來有一只鸛鳥飛過時看見了他們。它發(fā)現(xiàn)了這個奇怪的組合，感到很好奇，便在水邊停了下來。
鸛鳥問：“你們?yōu)槭裁磿谶@里？你們要到哪里去？”
“我是多蘿茜，”女孩回答；“這些都是我的朋友，鐵皮人和小膽?yīng){；我們都要去翡翠城的。”
鸛鳥扭了扭長頸，敏銳地看著這個團體時，說：“你們走錯路啦�！�
“我知道的，”多蘿茜回答說，“只因為我們把稻草人丟在河中，正在想辦法去救回他�！�
鸛鳥問：“稻草人在哪兒？”
“瞧，在那里。”小女孩子用手指點它。
鸛鳥說：“假如稻草人不是龐大而沉重，我很樂意把他救出來�！�
多蘿茜急忙說：“他一點兒也不重，他只是用稻草填塞的；如果你能把他救回來，和我們團聚，我們會非常感激你�！�
“好，我倒可以嘗試一下，”鸛鳥說，“如果我?guī)麜r，覺得太重的話，我就不得不仍舊把他放在河當(dāng)中的木桿上。”
接著，大鸛鳥就飛上水面的上空，直朝抱著木桿的稻草人飛過去。用它的大爪，抓住稻草人的肩膀，提著他飛起來，回到岸灘上。多蘿茜和獅子，還有鐵皮人和托托，都在那里焦急地等待著。
當(dāng)?shù)静萑擞只氐脚笥褌兩磉厱r，他高興得擁抱著他們，甚至連獅子和托托也不放過；大伙兒繼續(xù)向前走，他每走一步，唱著“獨—提—列—提—呵！”他太高興了。
“我真怕我會永遠留在河當(dāng)中了，”稻草人解釋說，“然而那可愛的鸛鳥救出了我，假如我能夠得到腦子，我要再找到鸛鳥，做一些事情來報答它�！�
“那很好，”鸛鳥一邊說著，一邊在他們旁邊飛著�！拔曳浅Ｔ敢鈳椭龅綖�(zāi)難的朋友�，F(xiàn)在我必須走了，因為我的孩子們都在窠里等著我。我祝愿你們找到翡翠城，奧芝能幫助你們�！�
“非常感謝，”多蘿茜回答說，于是仁慈的鸛鳥就飛到空中去，很快就沒了蹤影。
他們向前走著，聽著披著艷麗羽毛的鳥兒們歌唱，看著可愛的花兒，把地面全鋪滿了。那里有黃色的、白色的、藍色的、紫色的大花朵。
除此以外，還有一大簇、一大叢的深紅色的罌粟花，它們的紅色那么熾烈，幾乎要灼傷了多蘿茜的眼睛。
小女孩快活地吸著那些花兒的香氣，她問道：“它們不是很美麗嗎？”
“我想是的，”稻草人回答說�！叭绻矣辛四X子，可能會更加喜歡它們�！�
“假如我有了一顆心，我一定會愛它們�！辫F皮人接著說。
“我也非常喜歡花，”獅子說；“它們雖然看上去嬌嫩無力。
那森林里的花，顏色卻沒有這般鮮亮�！�
他們就跑到了茂盛的深紅色罌粟花叢中，別的花兒愈來愈少了；沒多久他們發(fā)覺自己已經(jīng)走在大罌粟花田中了。
也許他們都不知道，如果許多這種花生長在一起時，它們的香氣多么濃烈，誰呼吸了都要昏昏地睡去。如果這個睡著的人，不能遠離這些花兒，就要永遠地睡著了。
多蘿茜當(dāng)然也不知道，也沒有從這熾紅色的花叢中走開，所以她的眼皮立刻沉重起來，她想坐下來休息，并且要睡覺了。
然而鐵皮人阻止了她，他說：“我們一定要在天黑以前，趕回到黃磚路上�！钡静萑艘仓С炙�，所以他們用勁跑著，一直跑到多蘿茜再也站不起來，她的眼睛不由自主地閉了起來，她便倒在罌粟花中睡熟了。
鐵皮人問：“我們將怎么辦？”
“假如她繼續(xù)睡下去，她恐怕會死的，”獅子說。“這些花的香氣，我們也不能抗拒。現(xiàn)在我還能夠張開眼睛，那狗也睡著了�！�
那是真的，托托早已躺在它的小主人的旁邊睡著了。但是稻草人和鐵皮人，不是血肉做的身體，也就不會受香氣的困擾。
“快跑，”稻草人對獅子說，“竭盡全力，快快跑出這個讓人送命的花床。我們抬著多蘿茜走，假如你倒下去睡著了，你走實在是不可能的了�！�
所以獅子跳躍著向前走，盡力快奔，踏倒了大片的罌粟花，沒多久就消失在他們視野中了。
“讓我們用手當(dāng)椅子抬著她走，”稻草人說。于是他們把托托放在她的膝上。隨后他們用手做成座位，臂做著扶手，抬著熟睡的女孩子，穿越著花叢。
他們就這樣走著，然而這送命的罌粟花象個大地毯，圍繞在他們周圍，似乎走也走不出來。
他們沿著灣幽的河流前進，后來看見了他們的朋友獅子，它已經(jīng)倒在花叢中，熟睡著呢。
這些花的香氣，讓這巨獸抵擋不住，它越來越乏力，終于，在就要走出罌粟花床的盡頭時，不由自主地倒了下去。在他們面前，芬芳的草地鋪展在可愛的綠野中。
鐵皮人憂愁地說：“對于它，我們毫無辦法，因為舉起它來是根本不可能的事情。我們只好由它永遠睡在這兒，小膽?yīng){也只能在它夢里，去尋求膽量了�！�
“我很難過，”稻草人說：“獅子是一個好伙伴，它只是有點膽校我們繼續(xù)向前走罷�！�
他們抬著這個熟睡的小女孩子，走到河旁，這是遠離著罌粟花田的一個美麗的地方，她再也不會從這些花里呼吸到那更多的毒素了；他們輕輕地把她放在青青的草地上，等待著清爽的涼風(fēng)。
