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The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Chapter 4. The Road Through the Forest
After a few hours the road began to be rough.
The walking became so hard that the Scarecrow often tripped over the yellow bricks, which were not even here.
Sometimes they were broken or weren't there at all, leaving holes that Toto jumped over and Dorothy walked around.
As for the Scarecrow, having no brains, he walked ahead and stepped into holes and fell on the hard bricks.
It never hurt him, however.
Dorothy would lift him up and put him on his feet, and he joined her, laughing at his little accident.
The farms weren't as well kept here as they were back.
There were fewer houses and fewer fruit trees, and the farther they went the more sad and lonely the country became.
At noon they sat down by the roadside, near a little stream, and Dorothy opened her basket and took out some bread.
She gave a piece to the Scarecrow, but he said no.
"I'm never hungry," he said.
"It's lucky I'm not."
"My mouth is only painted, and if I should cut a hole in it so I could eat, the straw I'm stuffed with would come out."
"That would spoil the shape of my head."
Dorothy saw at once that this was true, so she only nodded and kept eating her bread.
"Tell me something about yourself and the country you came from," said the Scarecrow, when she had finished her dinner.
She told him about Kansas, how gray it was, and how the cyclone brought her to the Land of Oz.
The Scarecrow listened quietly for a moment and then said to Dorothy,
"I can't understand why you should wish to leave this beautiful country and go back to the dry, gray place you call Kansas."
"That's because you have no brains," answered the girl.
"No matter how dull and gray our homes are, we real people would rather live there than in any other country, however beautiful."
"There's no place like home."
The Scarecrow sighed, a long sad sound that showed he could not understand.
"Of course I can't understand it," he said.
"If your heads were stuffed with straw, like mine, you'd probably all live in the beautiful places, and then Kansas would have no people at all."
"It's lucky for Kansas that you have brains."
"Won't you tell me a story, while we're resting?" asked the child.
The Scarecrow looked at her sadly, and answered,
"My life has been so short that I really know nothing at all".
I was only made the day before yesterday.
What happened in the world before that time is all unknown to me.
When the farmer made my head, he first painted my ears, so I could hear 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're ears just the same,' which was true enough.
"'Now I'll make the eyes,' said the farmer".
So he painted my right eye.
As soon as it was finished, I found myself looking at him and at everything around me with a great deal of curiosity.
This was my first look at the world.
"'That's a rather pretty eye,' said the Munchkin who watched 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 didn't speak, because at that time I didn't know what a mouth was for.
I had the fun of watching them make my body and my arms and legs.
When they put on my head at last, I felt very proud.
I thought I was just as good a man as anyone.
"'This fellow will scare the crows fast enough,' said the farmer".
'He looks just like a man.'
"'Why, he's a man,' said the other, and I quite agreed with him".
The farmer carried me under his arm to the cornfield, and set me up on a tall stick, where you found me.
He and his friend soon after walked away and left me alone.
"I didn't like to be left this way".
So I tried to walk after them.
But my feet wouldn't touch the ground, and I had to stay on that pole.
It was a lonely life to lead, for I had nothing to think of, having been made such a little time before.
Many crows and other birds flew into the cornfield.
As soon as they saw me they flew away again, thinking I was a Munchkin.
This pleased me and made me feel that I was quite an important person.
By and by an old crow flew near me, and after looking at me carefully he sat on my shoulder and said,
"'I wonder if that farmer thought to fool me in this clumsy way".
Any crow could see you're stuffed with straw. He hopped down, ate the corn he wanted.
The other birds saw he wasn't harmed by me and came to eat the corn too.
In a short time there was a great flock of them about me.
I felt sad at this, for it showed I wasn't such a good Scarecrow after all.
The old crow made me feel better, told me I should try to get brains.
"If you only had brains in your head," he said, "you'd be as good a man as any of them."
"And a better man than some of them," he added.
Brains are the only things worth having in this world, no matter whether one is a crow or a man.'
"After the crows had gone I thought this over, and decided I'd try hard to get some brains".
By good luck you came along and pulled me off the stake.
From what you say, I'm sure the Great Oz will give me brains as soon as we get to the Emerald City.
"I hope so," said Dorothy earnestly, "since you seem anxious to have them."
"Oh, yes. I'm anxious," said the Scarecrow.
"It's such an uncomfortable feeling to know one is a fool."
"Well," said the girl, "let us go." And she handed the basket to the Scarecrow.
There were no fences at all by the roadside now, and the land was rough and not planted.
Toward evening they reached a great forest where tall, close trees' branches met over the yellow brick road.
It was dark under the trees, the branches shut out the daylight, but the travelers went into the forest.
"If this road goes in, it must come out," said the Scarecrow.
"And as the Emerald City is at the other end of the road, we must go wherever it leads us."
"Anyone would know that," said Dorothy.
"Certainly, that's why I know it," said the Scarecrow.
"If it needed brains to figure it out, I never would have said it."
After an hour or so the light grew less, and they found themselves walking along in the dark.
Dorothy could not see at all, but Toto could, because some dogs see well in the dark.
The Scarecrow said he could see as well as in the day.
So she held his arm and managed to get along fairly well.
"If you see any house, or any place where we can stay for the night,"
She said, "you must tell me, for it's very uncomfortable walking in the dark.".
Soon after, the Scarecrow stopped and looked ahead into the dark trees.
"I see a little cottage to the right of us," he said, "made of logs and branches. Shall we go there?"
"Yes, indeed," answered the child.
"I'm all tired out."
The Scarecrow led her through the trees to the cottage, and Dorothy found a bed of leaves in a corner.
She lay down at once, and with Toto beside her soon fell into a deep sleep.
The Scarecrow, who was never tired, stood up in another corner and waited quietly until morning came.