Our little party of travelers awakened the next morning refreshed and full of hope, and Dorothy breakfasted like a princess off peaches and plums from the trees beside the river. Behind them was the dark forest they had passed safely through, although they had suffered many discouragements; but before them was a lovely, sunny country that seemed to beckon them on to the Emerald City.

To be sure, the broad river now cut them off from this beautiful land. But the raft was nearly done, and after the Tin Woodman had cut a few more logs and fastened them together with wooden pins, they were ready to start. Dorothy sat down in the middle of the raft and held Toto in her arms. When the Cowardly Lion stepped upon the raft it tipped badly, for he was big and heavy; but the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman stood upon the other end to steady it, and they had long poles in their hands to push the raft through the water.

They got along quite well at first, but when they reached the middle of the river the swift current swept the raft downstream, farther and farther away from the road of yellow brick. And the water grew so deep that the long poles would not touch the bottom.

“This is bad,”said the Tin Woodman, “for if we cannot get to the land we shall be carried into the country of the Wicked Witch of the West, and she will enchant us and make us her slaves.”

“And then I should get no brains,”said the Scarecrow.

“And I should get no courage,”said the Cowardly Lion.

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

“And I should never get back to Kansas,”said Dorothy.

“We must certainly get to the Emerald City if we can,”the Scarecrow continued, and he pushed so hard on his long pole that it stuck fast in the mud at the bottom of the river. Then, before he could pull it out again—or let go—the raft was swept away, and the poor Scarecrow left clinging to the pole in the middle of the river.

“Good-bye!”he called after them, and they were very sorry to leave him. Indeed, the Tin Woodman began to cry, but fortunately remembered that he might rust, and so dried his tears on Dorothy's apron.

Of course this was a bad thing for the Scarecrow.

“I am now worse off than when I first met Dorothy,”he thought. “Then, I was stuck on a pole in a cornfield, where I could make-believe scare the crows, at any rate. But surely there is no use for a Scarecrow stuck on a pole in the middle of a river. I am afraid I shall never have any brains, after all!”

Down the stream the raft floated, and the poor Scarecrow was left far behind.

Then the Lion said: “Something must be done to save us. I think I can swim to the shore and pull the raft after me, if you will only hold fast to the tip of my tail.”

So he sprang into the water, and the Tin Woodman caught fast hold of his tail. Then the Lion began to swim with all his might toward the shore. It was hard work, although he was so big; but by and by they were drawn out of the current, and then Dorothy took the Tin Woodman's long pole and helped push the raft to the land.

They were all tired out when they reached the shore at last and stepped off upon the pretty green grass, and they also knew that the stream had carried them a long way past the road of yellow brick that led to the Emerald City.

“What shall we do now?”asked the Tin Woodman, as the Lion lay down on the grass to let the sun dry him.

“We must get back to the road, in some way,”said Dorothy.

“The best plan will be to walk along the riverbank until we come to the road again,”remarked the Lion.

So, when they were rested, Dorothy picked up her basket and they started along the grassy bank, to the road from which the river had carried them. It was a lovely country, with plenty of flowers and fruit trees and sunshine to cheer them, and had they not felt so sorry for the poor Scarecrow, they could have been very happy.

They walked along as fast as they could, Dorothy only stopping once to pick a beautiful flower; and after a time the Tin Woodman cried out: “Look!”

Then they all looked at the river and saw the Scarecrow perched upon his pole in the middle of the water, looking very lonely and sad.

“What can we do to save him?”asked Dorothy.

The Lion and the Woodman both shook their heads, for they did not know. So they sat down upon the bank and gazed wistfully at the Scarecrow until a Stork flew by, who, upon seeing them, stopped to rest at the water's edge.

“Who are you and where are you going?”asked the Stork.

“I am Dorothy,”answered the girl, “and these are my friends, the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion; and we are going to the Emerald City.”

“This isn't the road,”said the Stork, as she twisted her long neck and looked sharply at the queer party.

“I know it,”returned Dorothy, “but we have lost the Scarecrow, and are wondering how we shall get him again.”

“Where is he?”asked the Stork.

“Over there in the river,”answered the little girl.

“If he wasn't so big and heavy I would get him for you,”remarked the Stork.

“He isn't heavy a bit,”said Dorothy eagerly, “for he is stuffed with straw; and if you will bring him back to us, we shall thank you ever and ever so much.”

“Well, I'll try,”said the Stork, “but if I find he is too heavy to carry I shall have to drop him in the river again.”

So the big bird flew into the air and over the water till she came to where the Scarecrow was perched upon his pole. Then the Stork with her great claws grabbed the Scarecrow by the arm and carried him up into the air and back to the bank, where Dorothy and the Lion and the Tin Woodman and Toto were sitting.

When the Scarecrow found himself among his friends again, he was so happy that he hugged them all, even the Lion and Toto; and as they walked along he sang “Tol-de-ri-de-oh!”at every step, he felt so gay.

“I was afraid I should have to stay in the river forever,”he said, “but the kind Stork saved me, and if I ever get any brains I shall find the Stork again and do her some kindness in return.”

“That's all right,”said the Stork, who was flying along beside them. “I always like to help anyone in trouble. But I must go now, for my babies are waiting in the nest for me. I hope you will find the Emerald City and that Oz will help you.”

“Thank you,”replied Dorothy, and then the kind Stork flew into the air and was soon out of sight.

They walked along listening to the singing of the brightly colored birds and looking at the lovely flowers which now became so thick that the ground was carpeted with them. There were big yellow and white and blue and purple blossoms, besides great clusters of scarlet poppies, which were so brilliant in color they almost dazzled Dorothy's eyes.

“Aren't they beautiful?”the girl asked, as she breathed in the spicy scent of the bright flowers.

“I suppose so,”answered the Scarecrow. “When I have brains, I shall probably like them better.”

“If I only had a heart, I should love them,”added the Tin Woodman.

“I always did like flowers,”said the Lion. “They seem so helpless and frail. But there are none in the forest so bright as these.”

They now came upon more and more of the big scarlet poppies, and fewer and fewer of the other flowers; and soon they found themselves in the midst of a great meadow of poppies. Now it is well known that when there are many of these flowers together their odor is so powerful that anyone who breathes it falls asleep, and if the sleeper is not carried away from the scent of the flowers, he sleeps on and on forever. But Dorothy did not know this, nor could she get away from the bright red flowers that were everywhere about; so presently her eyes grew heavy and she felt she must sit down to rest and to sleep.

But the Tin Woodman would not let her do this.

“We must hurry and get back to the road of yellow brick before dark,”he said;and the Scarecrow agreed with him. So they kept walking until Dorothy could stand no longer. Her eyes closed in spite of herself and she forgot where she was and fell among the poppies, fast asleep.

“What shall we do?”asked the Tin Woodman.

“If we leave her here she will die,”said the Lion. “The smell of the flowers is killing us all. I myself can scarcely keep my eyes open, and the dog is asleep already.”

It was true; Toto had fallen down beside his little mistress. But the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman, not being made of flesh, were not troubled by the scent of the flowers.

“Run fast,”said the Scarecrow to the Lion, “and get out of this deadly flower bed as soon as you can. We will bring the little girl with us, but if you should fall asleep you are too big to be carried.”

So the Lion aroused himself and bounded forward as fast as he could go. In a moment he was out of sight.

“Let us make a chair with our hands and carry her,”said the Scarecrow. So they picked up Toto and put the dog in Dorothy's lap, and then they made a chair with their hands for the seat and their arms for the arms and carried the sleeping girl between them through the flowers.

On and on they walked, and it seemed that the great carpet of deadly flowers that surrounded them would never end. They followed the bend of the river, and at last came upon their friend the Lion, lying fast asleep among the poppies. The flowers had been too strong for the huge beast and he had given up at last, and fallen only a short distance from the end of the poppy bed, where the sweet grass spread in beautiful green fields before them.

“We can do nothing for him,”said the Tin Woodman, sadly. “for he is much too heavy to lift. We must leave him here to sleep on forever, and perhaps he will dream that he has found courage at last.”

“I'm sorry,”said the Scarecrow. “The Lion was a very good comrade for one so cowardly. But let us go on.”

They carried the sleeping girl to a pretty spot beside the river, far enough from the poppy field to prevent her breathing any more of the poison of the flowers, and here they laid her gently on the soft grass and waited for the fresh breeze to waken her.

第二天早晨，我們的這一小隊旅行者醒來，精神抖擻，充滿希望。多蘿西像公主一樣吃著從河邊的樹上摘下來的桃子和李子。留在他們后面的是那片黑暗的森林，雖然他們曾在那里遇到了好多挫折，但已經安全穿過了。在他們面前的是一片陽光明媚的可愛田野，它仿佛在召喚他們繼續走向翡翠城。

雖然這條寬闊的河現在把他們和這個美麗的地方隔離開來，但木筏就要扎好了。鐵皮樵夫又砍了幾塊圓木，用木釘把它們緊緊地扎在一起后，他們就可以動身了。多蘿西坐在木筏當中，懷里抱著透透。當膽小獅踏上木筏時，木筏嚴重傾斜，因為獅子又大又重；不過，稻草人和鐵皮樵夫站在另一端，讓木筏保持穩定，而且他們手里都拿著長竿撐著木筏渡河。

起初，他們前進得非常順利，但到達河中央時，急流把木筏向下游沖去，離黃磚路越來越遠。而且水漸漸變深，長竿都觸不到河底。

“這可壞了，”鐵皮樵夫說，“如果不能靠岸，我們就要被帶到西方壞女巫的國家，然后她會向我們施魔法，使我們成為她的奴隸。”

“那我就得不到腦子了。”稻草人說。

“那我就得不到膽量了。”膽小獅說。

“那我就得不到心了。”鐵皮樵夫說。

“那我就再也回不到堪薩斯州了。”多蘿西說。

“只要能靠岸，我們就肯定會到達翡翠城。”稻草人繼續說著，用力撐著長竿，牢牢地插到了河底的淤泥里。隨后，還沒等他再次拔出或松開長竿，木筏就被急流沖走了；可憐的稻草人緊緊抱住長竿，被留在了河中央。

“再見！”他在他們后面喊道。他們非常難過地離開了他。真的，鐵皮樵夫開始哭了起來，但幸虧想起了他可能會生銹，所以就在多蘿西的圍裙上擦干了眼淚。

當然，這對稻草人來說是一件糟糕事兒。

“我現在比當初遇見多蘿西時更糟了，”他想。“當時，我被插在玉米田的稈子上，至少在那里我還可以偽裝嚇唬烏鴉。可一個稻草人被插在河中的一根長竿上肯定毫無用處。我恐怕再也不會有腦子了！”

木筏順流而下，可憐的稻草人被遠遠地拋在了后面。

這時，獅子說：“我們必須想法救自己。我想我可以在前面拖著木筏游到岸邊，只要你們拉緊我的尾巴就行了。”

于是，獅子縱身跳進水里，鐵皮樵夫緊緊抓住它的尾巴。隨后，它開始全力向岸邊游去。盡管獅子力氣很大，但這還是很費勁兒。不過，不久以后，他們還是被拖出了激流。這時，多蘿西拿起鐵皮樵夫的長竿，幫著把木筏推向岸邊。

最后，他們到達岸邊，踏上美麗的綠草地時，都筋疲力盡，而且還知道那股急流已經把他們沖得遠離了通往翡翠城的黃磚路。

“現在我們怎么辦？”鐵皮樵夫問，這時獅子躺在草地上，讓太陽曬干身子。

“我們必須想法回到那條路上去。”多蘿西說。

“最好的辦法就是沿著河岸走，直到我們重新回到那條路上。”獅子說。

因此，他們休息過后，多蘿西提起籃子，他們沿著綠草如茵的河岸朝河水沖走他們的那條路走去。那是一片可愛的田野，繁花似錦，果樹遍地，陽光明媚。要不是為稻草人感到難過，他們本來是可以非常開心的。

他們盡可能快地向前跑。多蘿西只停了一次，去摘一朵美麗的鮮花。過了一會兒，鐵皮樵夫大聲喊道：“看！”

這時，他們都向河面上望去，只見稻草人插在河中的長竿上，看上去孤獨悲傷極了。

“我們怎樣才能救他呢？”多蘿西問。

獅子和鐵皮樵夫都搖搖頭，因為他們不知道。所以他們就在岸上坐下來，若有所思地凝視著稻草人，直到有一只鸛鳥飛過。鸛鳥看到他們，便在水邊停下來休息。

“你們是誰？你們要到哪里去？”鸛鳥問。

“我是多蘿西，”小女孩回答說，“這些都是我的朋友，鐵皮樵夫和膽小獅。我們準備到翡翠城去。”

“不是這條路。”鸛鳥一邊說，一邊扭過長脖子，目光敏銳地看著這個奇怪的群體。

“我知道，”多蘿西回答說，“可我們失去了稻草人，正不知道怎樣把他救回來呢。”

“他在哪里？”鸛鳥問。

“就在河那里。”小女孩回答說。

“如果他不是那樣大、那樣重，我就會為你們救他的。”鸛鳥說。

“他一點也不重，”多蘿西急切地說，“因為他塞滿了稻草；如果你把他帶回我們身邊，我們就會永永遠遠感謝你。”

“好，我試試看，”鸛鳥說，“但如果我發現他太重帶不動，我就不得不重新把他扔進河里。”

于是，大鳥就飛到空中，飛到水面上空，直至飛到稻草人被困住的地方。隨后，大鸛鳥用大爪子一把抓住稻草人的手臂，將他提升到空中，飛回到多蘿西、獅子、鐵皮樵夫和透透坐的岸邊。

稻草人發現自己又回到朋友們中間時，高興得緊緊擁抱他們，甚至擁抱了獅子和透透；之后，他們向前走，他每走一步都唱著歌兒，心里像樂開了花。

“我還害怕我會不得不永遠留在河里呢，”稻草人說，“可是，善良的鸛鳥救了我；如果我得到了腦子，我會再次找到鸛鳥，做一些好事來報答它。”

“那就好。”鸛鳥說，因為它就在他們旁邊飛著，“無論是誰遇到麻煩，我總是喜歡幫他。可是，現在我必須走了，因為我的寶寶們都在窩里等著我。我希望你們找到翡翠城，奧茲一定會幫助你們。”

“謝謝你，”多蘿西回答說。于是，好心的鸛鳥飛到空中，很快就不見了。

他們一邊向前走，一邊聽著色彩鮮艷的小鳥們歌唱，看著美麗的鮮花，現在它們開得非常茂盛，鋪地毯似的遍地都是。除了一大叢鮮紅色的罌粟花，那里還有黃的、白的、藍的、紫的大花，顏色非常鮮艷，幾乎讓多蘿西眼花繚亂。

“它們不是很美嗎？”小女孩一邊使勁聞著這些撲鼻的花香，一邊問。

“我想是的，”稻草人回答說，“等我有了腦子，說不定我會更喜歡它們。”

“只要有了一顆心，我一定會喜愛它們。”鐵皮樵夫補充說。

“我總是非常喜歡鮮花，”獅子說，“它們好像非常無助脆弱。可森林里的花沒有一朵像這樣鮮艷的。”

他們現在遇到的鮮紅色的大罌粟花越來越多，其他的花越來越少。過了一會兒，他們發現自己走在了一大片罌粟地里。眾所周知，當很多這種花聚攏在一起時，它們的香氣就會非常濃烈，無論是什么人呼吸多了，都會倒頭睡去。如果不把這個睡著的人從這些花香中帶走，那么他就會永遠睡下去。可是，多蘿西不知道這個，也無法從這四周都是鮮紅色的花叢中走開，所以她眼皮很快就發沉，感覺自己必須坐下來休息、睡覺。

可是，鐵皮樵夫不讓她這樣做。

“我們必須天黑前趕回到黃磚路上。”他說。稻草人同意他的意見。于是，他們繼續向前走，直到多蘿西再也站不起來，她的眼睛不由自主地閉住，她忘記自己是在什么地方，就倒在罌粟花叢中睡熟了。

“我們怎么辦？”鐵皮樵夫問。

“如果我們把她留在這里，她一定會死，”獅子說。“這些花的香氣也會把我們統統殺死。我自己幾乎連眼睛都睜不開了，而且狗已經睡著了。”

這話沒錯，透透已經倒在它的小女主人身邊。可是，因為稻草人和鐵皮樵夫不是肉做的，所以沒有受到這些花香的困擾。

“快跑，”稻草人對獅子說，“盡快跑出這個要命的花床。我們帶著這個小女孩一塊走，要是你倒下睡著了，你個頭太大了，我們可抬不動喲。”

所以，獅子振作精神，盡可能快地向前跳躍。轉眼間，它就不見了。

“讓我們用手做椅子抬著她走，”稻草人說。于是，他們抱起透透，放在多蘿西的膝間，然后用雙手當座位、胳膊當靠背，抬著睡著的小女孩，穿過花叢。

他們一直向前走，這一大片地毯似的要命的罌粟花環繞在四周，無邊無際。他們順著河流轉彎處前進，最后碰到了他們的獅子朋友，它正躺在罌粟花叢中熟睡。這些花的香氣對這只巨獸來說也太強烈了，它終于認輸，在離罌粟花床盡頭只有一小段距離處倒了下去。碧綠的芳草就在距他們面前不遠的美麗的田野中。

“我們對它無能為力，”鐵皮樵夫傷心地說，“因為它實在太重，抬不起來。我們必須把它留在這里讓它永遠睡下去，說不定它會在夢里最后找到膽量。”

“對不起，”稻草人說，“獅子雖然膽小，但它是一個非常好的同伴。現在讓我們繼續向前走吧。”

他們抬著睡著的小女孩走到河邊一個漂亮的地方，這里離罌粟地足夠遠，可以使她不再呼吸那些花的毒氣。隨后，他們輕輕地把她放在柔軟的草地上，等著清新的微風吹醒她。