the deadly poppy field
our little party of travelers awakehe m re- freshed 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 discements; but before them was a lovely, sunny try that seemed to be 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 fastehem to- gether with wooden pins, they were ready to start. dorothy sat down in the middle of the raft aoto 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 upoher end to steady it, and they had long poles in their hands to push the raft through the wa- ter.
they got along quite well at first, but when they reached the middle of the river the swift current swept the raft down- stream, 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 ot get to the land we shall be carried into the try of the wicked witch of the west, and she will ent us and make us her slaves.”
"and then i should get no brains," said the scarecrow.
"and i should get no ce," said the cowardly lion.
"and i should get ," said the tin woodman.
"and i should never get back to kansas," said dorothy.
"we must certainly get to the emerald city if we ," the scarecrow tinued, 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?aor let go?athe raft was swept away, and the poor scarecrow left ging to the pole in the middle of the river.
"good-bye!" he called after them, and they were very sorry to leave him. ihe tin woodman began to cry, but for- tunately remembered that he might rust, and so dried his tears on dorothys 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 stu a pole in a field, where i could make-believe scare the crows, at any rate. but surely there is no use for a scarecrow stu a pole in the middle of a river. i am afraid i shall never have any brains, after all!”
dowrea
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