the road through the forest
after a few hours the road began to be rough, and the walk- ing grew so difficult that the scarecrow often stumbled over the yellow bricks, which were here very uneven. sometimes, ihey were broken or missing altogether, leaving holes that toto jumped across and dorothy walked around. as for the scarecrow, having no brains, he walked straight ahead, and so stepped into the holes and fell at full length on the hard bricks. it never hurt him, however, and dorothy would pick him up a him upon his feet again, while he joined her in laughing merrily at his own mishap.
the farms were not nearly so well cared for here as they were farther back. there were fewer houses and fewer fruit trees, and the farther they went the more dismal and lonesome the try became.
at noon they sat down by the roadside, near a little brook, and dorothy opened her basket and got out some bread. she offered a piece to the scarecrow, but he refused.
"i am never hungry," he said, "and it is a lucky thing i am not, for my mouth is only painted, and if i should cut a hole in it so i could eat, the straw i am stuffed with would e out, and that would spoil the shape of my head.”
dorothy saw at ohat this was true, so she only nodded a oing her bread.
"tell me something about yourself and the try you came from," said the scarecrow, when she had finished her dinner. so she told him all about kansas, and how gray every- thing was there, and how the cye had carried her to this queer land of oz.
the scarecrow listened carefully, and said, "i ot uand why you should wish to leave this beautiful try and go back to the dry, gray place you call kansas.”
"that is because you have no brains" answered the girl.
"no matter how dreary and gray our homes are, we people of flesh and blood would rather live there than in any other try, be it ever so beautiful. there is no place like home.”
the scarecrow sighed.
"of course i ot uand it," he said. "if your heads were stuffed with straw, like mine, you would probably all live in the beautiful places, and then kansas would have no people at all. it is fortunate for kansas that you have brains.”
"wont you tell me a story, while we are resting?" asked the child.
the scarecrow looked at her reproachfully, and answered:
"my life has been so short that i really know nothing what- ever. i was only made day before yesterday. what happened in the world bef
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