I cannot imagine, replied the Scarecrow; but we can go and see.
Just then another groan reached their ears, and the sound seemed to
come from behind them. They turned and walked through the forest a few
steps, when Dorothy discovered something shining in a ray of sunshine
that fell between the trees. She ran to the place and then stopped
short, with a little cry of surprise.
One of the big trees had been partly chopped through, and standing
beside it, with an uplifted axe in his hands, was a man made entirely
of tin. His head and arms and legs were jointed upon his body, but he
stood perfectly motionless, as if he could not stir at all.
Dorothy looked at him in amazement, and so did the Scarecrow, while
Toto barked sharply and made a snap at the tin legs, which hurt his
teeth.
Did you groan? asked Dorothy.
Yes, answered the tin man, I did. I ve been groaning for more than a
year, and no one has ever heard me before or come to help me.
What can I do for you? she inquired softly, for she was moved by the
sad voice in which the man spoke.
Get an oil-can and oil my joints, he answered. They are rusted so
badly that I cannot move them at all; if I am well oiled I shall soon
be all right again. You will find an oil-can on a shelf in my cottage.
Dorothy at once ran back to the cottage and found the oil-can, and then
she returned and asked anxiously, Where are your joints?
Oil my neck, first, replied the Tin Woodman. So she oiled it, and as
it was quite badly rusted the Scarecrow took hold of the tin head and
moved it gently from side to side until it worked freely, and then the
man could turn it himself.
Now oil the joints in my arms, he said. And Dorothy oiled them and
the Scarecrow bent them carefully until they were quite free from rust
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