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

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