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The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Chapter 9. The Queen of the Field Mice
"We can't be far from the road of yellow brick now," said the Scarecrow as he stood beside the girl.
"For we have come nearly as far as the river carried us away."
The Tin Woodman was about to answer when he heard a low growl.
Turning his head, which worked on hinges, he saw a strange beast run over the grass toward them.
It was a great yellow Wildcat, and the Woodman thought it must be chasing something.
Its ears were close to its head, and its mouth was wide open, showing two rows of sharp teeth.
Its red eyes shone like balls of fire.
As it came nearer, the Tin Woodman saw that running in front of the beast was a little gray field mouse.
Though he had no heart, he knew it was wrong for the Wildcat to try to kill such a small, harmless creature.
So the Woodman raised his axe.
As the Wildcat ran by, he gave it a quick blow that cut the beast's head clean off its body.
It fell at his feet in two pieces.
The field mouse, now that it was free from its enemy, stopped short.
It came slowly up to the Woodman and said in a small, high voice,
"Oh, thank you! Thank you ever so much for saving my life."
"Don't speak of it, I beg you," replied the Woodman.
"I have no heart, you know, so I'm careful to help those who need a friend, even if it's only a mouse."
"Only a mouse!" cried the little animal angrily.
"Why, I'm a Queen, the Queen of all the Field Mice!"
"Oh, indeed," said the Woodman, bowing.
"Then you have done a great deed, as well as a brave one, in saving my life," added the Queen.
At that moment many mice ran up as fast as they could, and when they saw their Queen they cried,
"Oh, your Majesty, we thought you'd be killed!"
"How did you manage to escape the great Wildcat?"
They all bowed so low to the little Queen that they almost stood on their heads.
"This funny tin man,"
She answered, "killed the Wildcat and saved my life. So from now on you must all serve him, and obey his smallest wish.".
"We'll!" cried all the mice in a high chorus.
Then they ran in all directions because Toto woke from his sleep.
Seeing so many mice, Toto barked with joy and jumped into the middle.
Toto had always liked to chase mice when he lived in Kansas, and he saw no harm in it.
But the Tin Woodman caught the dog in his arms and held him tight, while he called to the mice,
"Come back! Come back! Toto won't hurt you."
At this the Queen of the Mice poked her head out from under a clump of grass and asked in a shy voice,
"Are you sure he won't bite us?"
"I won't let him," said the Woodman, "so don't be afraid."
One by one the mice came creeping back, and Toto didn't bark again.
He tried to leave the Woodman's arms and would have bitten him if he had not known he was tin.
At last one of the biggest mice spoke.
"Is there anything we can do," it asked, "to pay you back for saving the life of our Queen?"
"Nothing that I know of," answered the Woodman.
The Scarecrow had been trying to think but couldn't, because his head was stuffed with straw.
He said quickly, "Oh, yes, you can save our friend, the Cowardly Lion, who's asleep in the poppy bed."
"A Lion!" cried the little Queen.
"Why, he'd eat us all up."
"Oh, no," said the Scarecrow.
"This Lion is a coward."
"Really?" asked the Mouse.
"He says so himself," answered the Scarecrow.
"And he'd never hurt anyone who's our friend. If you'll help us to save him I promise that he'll treat you all kindly."
"Very well," said the Queen, "we trust you. But what shall we do?"
"Are there many mice who call you Queen and will obey you?"
"Oh, yes, there are thousands," she replied.
"Then send for them all to come here as soon as you can, and let each one bring a long piece of string."
The Queen turned to the mice with her and told them to go at once and fetch all her people.
As soon as they heard her order they ran away in every direction as fast as they could.
"Now," said the Scarecrow to the Tin Woodman.
"You must go to those trees by the riverside and make a truck that'll carry the Lion."
So the Woodman went at once to the trees and began to work.
And he soon made a truck out of the limbs of trees.
He chopped off all the leaves and branches.
He fastened it with wooden pegs and made the four wheels out of short pieces of a big tree trunk.
So fast and so well did he work that by the time the mice began to arrive the truck was ready for them.
They came from all directions, running fast over the grass toward the truck.
And there were thousands, big mice and little mice and medium mice, and each one held a piece of string in its mouth.
It was about this time that Dorothy woke from her long sleep and opened her eyes.
She was very surprised to find herself lying on the grass with thousands of mice standing around and looking at her shyly.
The Scarecrow told her everything, and turning to the dignified little Mouse he said,
"Permit me to introduce to you her Majesty, the Queen."
Dorothy nodded seriously and the Queen made a bow, after which she became quite friendly with the little girl.
The Scarecrow and the Woodman now began to fasten the mice to the truck, using the strings they had brought.
One end of a string was tied around the neck of each mouse and the other end to the truck.
Of course the truck was a thousand times bigger than any of the mice who were to pull it.
But when all the mice had been fastened, they were able to pull it easily.
Even the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman could sit on it.
Their strange little horses drew them quickly to the place where the Lion lay asleep.
After a great deal of hard work, for the Lion was heavy, they managed to get him up on the truck.
Then the Queen quickly ordered them to start, for she was afraid the mice would fall asleep in the poppies.
At first the little animals could hardly move the heavy truck.
The Woodman and the Scarecrow pushed from behind, and the truck moved better.
Soon they rolled the Lion out of the poppy bed to the green fields.
There he could breathe sweet, fresh air again instead of the poppy's bad smell.
Dorothy came to meet them and thanked the little mice warmly for saving her friend from death.
She had grown so fond of the big Lion that she was glad he had been rescued.
Then the mice were untied from the truck and ran away through the grass to their homes.
The Queen of the Mice was the last to leave.
"If you ever need us again," she said, "come out into the field and call, and we'll hear you and come to help. Good-bye!"
"Good-bye!" they all answered, and away the Queen ran, while Dorothy held Toto tightly so he wouldn't run after her and scare her.
After this they sat beside the Lion until he woke.
The Scarecrow brought Dorothy fruit from a nearby tree and she ate it for dinner.