李斌

A Man With No Heart

Dorothy hears a noise

Dorothy， the Scarecrow and Toto came to a great forest①. It was dark there， but they kept on walking. Then they came to a little house. No one was there， and the door was not locked②. Dorothy went in.

It was almost night time. Dorothy lay down on the leaves with Toto beside her. Soon she fell into a deep sleep. The Scarecrow stood in another corner③. He waited quietly until morning came.

When Dorothy woke up， the sun was shining brightly through the trees. Dorothy， Toto and the Scarecrow left the little house. They walked through the forest.

Suddenly she heard a deep groan④.

“What was that？” she asked.

“I don't know，” replied the Scarecrow. “Let's go and see.”

Standing beside a tree， with an axe⑤ in his hands， was a man made of tin⑥. He did not move. It looked as if he could not move at all.

“Did you groan？” asked Dorothy.

“Yes，” answered the tin man， “I did. I've been groaning here for more than a year，” he said， “No one ever heard me before.”

“What can I do for you？” Dorothy asked. She felt sorry for the poor man.

“Get an oil⑦-can and oil me，” the tin man answered.

Oiling the Tin Woodman

Dorothy ran back to the little house. She found the oil-can， and returned to the Tin Woodman.

Dorothy poured oil all round， arms， legs knee and elbows. The Tin Woodman thanked Dorothy and the Scarecrow for their help.

“What are you doing here in the forest？” he asked.

“We are going to the Emerald City， to see the Great Oz，” Dorothy said，“I want Oz to send me back to Kansas. The Scarecrow wants him to put some brains in his head.”

The Tin Woodman thought carefully. Then he said，

“I wonder if Oz would give me a heart.”

“It would be as easy as giving the Scarecrow brains，” Dorothy replied.

“Then I will go to the Emerald City， too，” said the Tin Woodman， “Perhaps Oz will help me.”

A big coward

Suddenly， they heard a loud roar⑧. A great Lion jumped out into the road. He knocked the Scarecrow down. Then he hit the Tin Woodman. The Tin Woodman fell over， too， and lay still.

Toto ran barking towards the Lion. He was angry. But Dorothy was afraid the Lion would hurt the little dog. She rushed⑨ forward. She hit the Lion on his nose. She cried out，“You bad animal！ Don't bite Toto. You are so big， and he is just a poor little dog！ You are nothing but a big coward⑩.”

“I know，” said the Lion， sadly. “I have always been a coward.”

The Lion

“I will go with you”

Dorothy looked at the great Lion. He was as big as a small horse. “Why are you such a coward？” she asked.

“I do not know，” replied the Lion. “It makes me very unhappy.”

“Everyone has something that makes him unhappy，” said Dorothy.

“I am unhappy because I have no brains，” said the Scarecrow.

“And I have no heart，” said the Tin Woodman.

“And Toto and I want to go back to Kansas， but we don't know how to get there，” said Dorothy. “That is why we are walking through this forest. We are going to the City of Emeralds， to ask Oz to help all of us.”

“Do you think Oz could give me courage①？” asked the Coward Lion.

“As easily as he can give me brains，” said the Scarecrow.

“And as easily as he can give me a heart，” said the Tin Woodman.

“Or send Toto and me back to Kansas，” said Dorothy.

“Then I will go with you，” said the Lion. “I'll ask Oz to give me courage.”

So once more they set off② on their journey.

The great， wide ditch

The road stopped at the edge③ of the ditch④， and started again on either side. The ditch was very wide. When they looked over the edge， they could see it was also very deep. There were many big， sharp rocks⑤ at the bottom. The ditch was too deep for them to climb down. It seemed that their journey must end there.

“I am terribly afraid of falling，” said the Coward Lion， “but I think I could jump over it. One of you get on my back and we will try.”

Flying through the air

The Scarecrow was the first. He said if he fell it did not matter. He sat on the Lion's back， and closed his eyes. Then， with a great jump， the Lion flew through the air to the other side. He did it easily. The Scarecrow got off， and the Lion jumped back across the ditch. Then he took Dorothy and Toto across. After that， he jumped over the ditch with the Tin Woodman.

“This is where the Kalidahs live，” the Lion whispered.

“What are Kalidahs？” asked Dorothy.

“Terrible beasts，” said the Lion. “They have large bodies and heads. They have long， sharp teeth. They could tear⑥ me in two quite easily. I'm terribly afraid of the Kalidahs.”

“I'm not surprised，” Dorothy said. “They must be monsters.”

The tree-bridge

The travellers came to another ditch. This one was too wide for the Lion to jump across. They sat down to think what they could do.

“Look at that tree， standing close to the ditch，” said the Scarecrow. “If the Tin Woodman can chop⑦ it down， the top will reach the other side. We can use the tree as a bridge. We can walk over quite easily.”

The Woodman started work at once. Soon the big tree fell across the ditch. Its top branches⑧ just reached the other side.

Dorothy went first across the tree-bridge， holding Toto in her arms. The Tin Woodman followed. The Scarecrow came next.

Two Kalidahs ran to them. The Lion was afraid， but he stayed where he was. He turned and roared at the Kalidahs. His roar was so loud and terrible that Dorothy screamed and the Scarecrow fell over. Even the Kalidahs stopped. They looked at the Coward Lion in surprise， but only for a minute. After that they rushed forward again. Then the Lion crossed over the tree-bridge as fast as he could go. The Kalidahs began to follow.

Frightened

“Be quick，” said the Scarecrow， as the Lion came across. Then the Scarecrow asked the Woodman to chop away the branches that rested on their side of the ditch. The Tin Woodman began to use his axe at once.

The tree fell down into the great， deep ditch. The terrible beasts fell with it. They were both killed on the sharp rocks at the bottom.

The travellers walked on through the forest. After a while they came to a river. The forest ended there. On the other side of the water， they could see the yellow-brick road. The country it went through was bright and sunny. It looked very beautiful.

“How shall we cross the river？” asked Dorothy.

“That is easily done，” replied the Scarecrow. “The Tin Woodman must chop down a tree and make us a raft⑨. Then we can get across.”