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04 - The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - L Frank Baum · Classic Adventure Books - Daily

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  Speaker 1: Chapter four, The Road through the forest. After a few hours,
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  Speaker 1: the road began to be rough, and the walking grew
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  Speaker 1: so difficult that the scarecrow often stumbled over the yellow bricks,
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  Speaker 1: which were here very uneven. Sometimes indeed, they were broking
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  Speaker 1: or missing altogether, leaving holes that Toto jumped across and
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  Speaker 1: Dorothy walked around. As for the scarecrow, having no brains,
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  Speaker 1: he walked straight ahead, and so stepped into the holes
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  Speaker 1: and fell at full length on the hard bricks. It
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  Speaker 1: never hurt him, however, and Dorothy would pick him up
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  Speaker 1: and set him upon his feet again, while he joined
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  Speaker 1: her and laughing merrily at his own mishap. The farms
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  Speaker 1: were not nearly so well cared for here as they
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  Speaker 1: were farther back. There were fewer houses and fewer fruit trees.
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  Speaker 1: And the farther they went, the more dismal and lonesome
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  Speaker 1: the country became. At noon, they sat down by the
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  Speaker 1: roadside near a little brook, and Dorothy opened her basket
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  Speaker 1: and got out some bread. She offered a piece to
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  Speaker 1: the scarecrow, but he refused. I am never hungry, he said,
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  Speaker 1: and it is a lucky thing I am not, for
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  Speaker 1: my mouth is only painted and if I should cut
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  Speaker 1: a hole in it so I could eat, the straw
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  Speaker 1: I am stuffed with would come out, and that would
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  Speaker 1: spoil the shape of my head. Dorothy saw at once
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  Speaker 1: that this was true, and so she nodded and went
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  Speaker 1: on eating her bread. Tell me something about yourself and
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  Speaker 1: the country you came from, said the scarecrow, when she
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  Speaker 1: had finished her dinner. So she told him all about Kansas,
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  Speaker 1: and how gray everything was there, and how the cyclone
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  Speaker 1: had carried her to this queer land of Oz. The
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  Speaker 1: scarecrow listened carefully and said, I cannot understand why you
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  Speaker 1: would wish to leave this beautiful country and go back
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  Speaker 1: to the dry, gray place you call Kansas. That is
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  Speaker 1: because you have no brains, answered the girl. No matter
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  Speaker 1: how dreary and gray our homes are, we people of
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  Speaker 1: flesh and blood, would rather live there than in any
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  Speaker 1: other country. Be it ever so beautiful. There is no
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  Speaker 1: place like home. The scarecrow sighed, of course, I cannot
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  Speaker 1: understand it, he said. If your heads were stuffed with
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  Speaker 1: straw like mine, you would probably all live in the
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  Speaker 1: beautiful places, and then Kansas would have no people at all.
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  Speaker 1: It is fortunate for Kansas that you have brains, won't
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  Speaker 1: you tell me a story while we are resting, asked
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  Speaker 1: the child. The scarecrow looked at her reproachfully and answered,
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  Speaker 1: my life has been so short that I really know nothing. Whatever.
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  Speaker 1: I was only made day before yesterday. What happened in
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  Speaker 1: the world before that time is all unknown to me. Luckily,
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  Speaker 1: when the farmer made my head, one of the first
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  Speaker 1: things he did was to paint my ears, so that
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  Speaker 1: I heard what was going on. There was another munchkin
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  Speaker 1: with him, and the first thing I heard was the
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  Speaker 1: farmer saying, how do you like those ears? They aren't straight,
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  Speaker 1: answered the other. Never mind, said the farmer, They are
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  Speaker 1: ears just the same, which was true enough. Now I'll
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  Speaker 1: make the eyes, said the farmer. So he painted my
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  Speaker 1: right eye, and as soon as it was finished, I
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  Speaker 1: found myself looking at him and at everything around me
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  Speaker 1: with a great deal of curiosity, for this was my
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  Speaker 1: first glimpse of the world. That's a rather pretty eye,
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  Speaker 1: remarked the munchkin who was watching the farmer. Blue paint
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  Speaker 1: is just the color for eyes. I think I'll make
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  Speaker 1: the other a little bigger, said the farmer, And when
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  Speaker 1: the second i was done, I could see much better
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  Speaker 1: than before. Then he made my nose in my mouth,
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  Speaker 1: but I did not speak, because of the time I
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  Speaker 1: didn't know what a mouth was, for I had the
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  Speaker 1: fun of watching them make my body and my arms
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  Speaker 1: and legs, And when they fastened on my head at last,
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  Speaker 1: I felt very proud, for I thought I was just
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  Speaker 1: as good a man as anyone. This fellow will scare
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  Speaker 1: the crows fast enough, said the farmer. He looks just
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  Speaker 1: like a man. Why he is a man, said the other,
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  Speaker 1: and I quite agreed with him. The farmer carried me
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  Speaker 1: under his arm to the cornfield and set me up
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  Speaker 1: on a tall stick where you found me. He and
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  Speaker 1: his friend soon after walked away and left me alone.
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  Speaker 1: I did not like to be deserted this way, so
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  Speaker 1: I tried to walk after them, but my feet would
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  Speaker 1: not touch the ground, and I was forced to stay
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  Speaker 1: on that pole. It was a lonely life to lead,
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  Speaker 1: for I had nothing to think of, having been made
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  Speaker 1: such a short while before, many crows and other birds
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  Speaker 1: flew into the cornfield, but as soon as they saw me,
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  Speaker 1: they flew away again, thinking I was a munchkin. And
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  Speaker 1: this pleased me and made me feel that I was
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  Speaker 1: quite an important person by and bye. An old crow
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  Speaker 1: flew near me, and after looking at me carefully, he
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  Speaker 1: perched upon my shoulder and said, I wonder if that
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  Speaker 1: farmer thought to fool me in this clumsy manner. Any
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  Speaker 1: crow of sense could see that you were only stuff
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  Speaker 1: with straw. Then he hopped down at my feet and
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  Speaker 1: ate all the corn he wanted. The other birds, seeing
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  Speaker 1: he was not harmed by me, came to eat the
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  Speaker 1: corn too, so in a short time there was a
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  Speaker 1: great flock of them about me. I felt sad at this,
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  Speaker 1: for it showed I was not such a good scarecrow
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  Speaker 1: after all. But the old crow comforted me, saying, if
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  Speaker 1: you only had brains in your head, you would be
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  Speaker 1: as good a man as any of them, and a
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  Speaker 1: better man than some of them. Brains are the only
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  Speaker 1: things worth having in this world, no matter whether one
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  Speaker 1: is a crow or a man. After the crows had gone,
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  Speaker 1: I thought this over and decided I would try hard
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  Speaker 1: to get some brains. By good luck, you came along
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  Speaker 1: and pulled me off the stake, And from what you say,
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  Speaker 1: I am sure the Great Oz will give me some
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  Speaker 1: brains as soon as we get to the Emerald City.
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  Speaker 1: I hope, so said Dorothy earnestly, since you seem anxious
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  Speaker 1: to have them. Oh, yes, I am anxious, returned the scarecrow.
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  Speaker 1: It is such an uncomfortable feeling to know one is
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  Speaker 1: a fool. Well, said the girl. Let us go, and
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  Speaker 1: she handed the basket to the scarecrow. There were no
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  Speaker 1: fences at all by the roadside now, and the land
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  Speaker 1: was rough and untilled. Toward evening they came to a
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  Speaker 1: great forest, where the trees grew so big and close
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  Speaker 1: together that their branches met over the road of yellow brick.
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  Speaker 1: It was almost dark under the trees, for the branches
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  Speaker 1: shut out the daylight. But the travelers did not stop
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  Speaker 1: and went on into the forest. If this road goes in,
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  Speaker 1: it must come out, said the scarecrow. And as the
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  Speaker 1: Emerald city is at the other end of the road,
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  Speaker 1: we must go wherever it leads us. Any one would
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  Speaker 1: know that, said Dorothy. Certainly, that is why I know it,
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  Speaker 1: returned the scarecrow. If it required brains to figure it out,
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  Speaker 1: I never should have said it. After an hour or so,
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  Speaker 1: the light faded away, and they found themselves stumbling along
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  Speaker 1: in the darkness. Dorothy could not see at all, but
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  Speaker 1: Toto could, for some dogs, see very well in the dark,
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  Speaker 1: and the scarecrow declared he could see as well as
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  Speaker 1: by day. So she took hold of his arm and
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  Speaker 1: managed to get along fairly well. If you see any
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  Speaker 1: houses or any place where we can pass the night,
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  Speaker 1: she said, you must tell me, for it is very
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  Speaker 1: uncomfortable walking in the dark. Soon after the scarecrow stopped.
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  Speaker 1: I see a little cottage at the right of us,
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  Speaker 1: he said, built of logs and branches. Shall we go there? Yes, indeed,
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  Speaker 1: answered the child, I am all tired out. So the
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  Speaker 1: scarecrow led her through the trees until they reached the cottage,
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  Speaker 1: and Dorothy entered and found a bed of dried leaves
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  Speaker 1: in one corner. She lay down at once, and, with
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  Speaker 1: Toto beside her, soon fell into a sound sleep. The scarecrow,
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  Speaker 1: who was never tired, stood up in another corner and
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  Speaker 1: waited patiently until morning came. End of Chapter four