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 country, be it ever so beautiful.
There is no place like home.
The Scarecrow sighed.
Of course I cannot understand 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.
Won t 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 whatever. I was
only made day before yesterday. What happened in the world before that
time is all unknown to me. Luckily, when the farmer made my head, one
of the first things he did was to paint my ears, so that I heard what
was going on. There was another Munchkin with him, and the first thing
I heard was the farmer saying, How do you like those ears?
They aren t straight, answered the other.
Never mind, said the farmer. They are ears just the same, which
was true enough.
Now I ll make the eyes, said the farmer. So he painted my right
eye, and as soon as it was finished I found myself looking at him and
at everything around me with a great deal of curiosity, for this was my
first glimpse of the world.
That s a rather pretty eye, remarked the Munchkin who was watching
the farmer. Blue paint is just the color for eyes.
I think I ll make the other a little bigger, said the farmer. And
when the second eye was done I could see much better than before. Then
he made my nose and my mouth. But I did not speak, because at that time
I didn t know what a mouth was for. I had the fun of watching them make
19