Don t! Please don t, begged the Tin Woodman. I should certainly weep
if you killed a poor deer, and then my jaws would rust again.
But the Lion went away into the forest and found his own supper, and no
one ever knew what it was, for he didn t mention it. And the Scarecrow
found a tree full of nuts and filled Dorothy s basket with them, so
that she would not be hungry for a long time. She thought this was very
kind and thoughtful of the Scarecrow, but she laughed heartily at the
awkward way in which the poor creature picked up the nuts. His padded
hands were so clumsy and the nuts were so small that he dropped almost
as many as he put in the basket. But the Scarecrow did not mind how
long it took him to fill the basket, for it enabled him to keep away
from the fire, as he feared a spark might get into his straw and burn
him up. So he kept a good distance away from the flames, and only came
near to cover Dorothy with dry leaves when she lay down to sleep. These
kept her very snug and warm, and she slept soundly until morning.
When it was daylight, the girl bathed her face in a little rippling
brook, and soon after they all started toward the Emerald City.
This was to be an eventful day for the travelers. They had hardly been
walking an hour when they saw before them a great ditch that crossed
the road and divided the forest as far as they could see on either
side. It was a very wide ditch, and when they crept up to the edge and
looked into it they could see it was also very deep, and there were
many big, jagged rocks at the bottom. The sides were so steep that none
of them could climb down, and for a moment it seemed that their journey
must end.
What shall we do? asked Dorothy despairingly.
I haven t the faintest idea, said the Tin Woodman, and the Lion shook
his shaggy mane and looked thoughtful.
But the Scarecrow said, We cannot fly, that is certain. Neither can we
climb down into this great ditch. Therefore, if we cannot jump over it,
we must stop where we are.
I think I could jump over it, said the Cowardly Lion, after measuring
the distance carefully in his mind.
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