The Tin Woodman of Oz, Page 2

  Chapter Two

  The Heart of the Tin Woodman

  The Emperor of the Winkies paused in his story to reach for an oil-can,with which he carefully oiled the joints in his tin throat, for hisvoice had begun to squeak a little. Woot the Wanderer, having satisfiedhis hunger, watched this oiling process with much curiosity, but beggedthe Tin Man to go on with his tale.

  "The Witch with the Silver Shoes hated me for having defied her,"resumed the Emperor, his voice now sounding clear as a bell, "and sheinsisted that Nimmie Amee should never marry me. Therefore she madethe enchanted axe cut off my other arm, and the tinsmith also replacedthat member with tin, including these finely-jointed hands that you seeme using. But, alas! after that, the axe, still enchanted by the cruelWitch, cut my body in two, so that I fell to the ground. Then theWitch, who was watching from a near-by bush, rushed up and seized theaxe and chopped my body into several small pieces, after which,thinking that at last she had destroyed me, she ran away laughing inwicked glee.

  "But Nimmie Amee found me. She picked up my arms and legs and head, andmade a bundle of them and carried them to the tinsmith, who set to workand made me a fine body of pure tin. When he had joined the arms andlegs to the body, and set my head in the tin collar, I was a muchbetter man than ever, for my body could not ache or pain me, and I wasso beautiful and bright that I had no need of clothing. Clothing isalways a nuisance, because it soils and tears and has to be replaced;but my tin body only needs to be oiled and polished.

  "Nimmie Amee still declared she would marry me, as she still loved mein spite of the Witch's evil deeds. The girl declared I would make thebrightest husband in all the world, which was quite true. However, theWicked Witch was not yet defeated. When I returned to my work the axeslipped and cut off my head, which was the only meat part of me thenremaining. Moreover, the old woman grabbed up my severed head andcarried it away with her and hid it. But Nimmie Amee came into theforest and found me wandering around helplessly, because I could notsee where to go, and she led me to my friend the tinsmith. The faithfulfellow at once set to work to make me a tin head, and he had justcompleted it when Nimmie Amee came running up with my old head, whichshe had stolen from the Witch. But, on reflection, I considered the tinhead far superior to the meat one--I am wearing it yet, so you can seeits beauty and grace of outline--and the girl agreed with me that a manall made of tin was far more perfect than one formed of differentmaterials. The tinsmith was as proud of his workmanship as I was, andfor three whole days, all admired me and praised my beauty. Being nowcompletely formed of tin, I had no more fear of the Wicked Witch, forshe was powerless to injure me. Nimmie Amee said we must be married atonce, for then she could come to my cottage and live with me and keepme bright and sparkling.

  "'I am sure, my dear Nick,' said the brave and beautiful girl--my namewas then Nick Chopper, you should be told--'that you will make the besthusband any girl could have. I shall not be obliged to cook for you,for now you do not eat; I shall not have to make your bed, for tin doesnot tire or require sleep; when we go to a dance, you will not getweary before the music stops and say you want to go home. All day long,while you are chopping wood in the forest, I shall be able to amusemyself in my own way--a privilege few wives enjoy. There is no temperin your new head, so you will not get angry with me. Finally, I shalltake pride in being the wife of the only live Tin Woodman in all theworld!' Which shows that Nimmie Amee was as wise as she was brave andbeautiful."

  "I think she was a very nice girl," said Woot the Wanderer. "But, tellme, please, why were you not killed when you were chopped to pieces?"

  "In the Land of Oz," replied the Emperor, "no one can ever be killed. Aman with a wooden leg or a tin leg is still the same man; and, as Ilost parts of my meat body by degrees, I always remained the sameperson as in the beginning, even though in the end I was all tin and nomeat."

  "I see," said the boy, thoughtfully. "And did you marry Nimmie Amee?"

  "No," answered the Tin Woodman, "I did not. She said she still lovedme, but I found that I no longer loved her. My tin body contained noheart, and without a heart no one can love. So the Wicked Witchconquered in the end, and when I left the Munchkin Country of Oz, thepoor girl was still the slave of the Witch and had to do her biddingday and night."

  "Where did you go?" asked Woot.

  "Well, I first started out to find a heart, so I could love Nimmie Ameeagain; but hearts are more scarce than one would think. One day, in abig forest that was strange to me, my joints suddenly became rusted,because I had forgotten to oil them. There I stood, unable to move handor foot. And there I continued to stand--while days came andwent--until Dorothy and the Scarecrow came along and rescued me. Theyoiled my joints and set me free, and I've taken good care never to rustagain."

  "Who was this Dorothy?" questioned the Wanderer.

  "A little girl who happened to be in a house when it was carried by acyclone all the way from Kansas to the Land of Oz. When the house fell,in the Munchkin Country, it fortunately landed on the Wicked Witch andsmashed her flat. It was a big house, and I think the Witch is under ityet."

  "No," said the Scarecrow, correcting him, "Dorothy says the Witchturned to dust, and the wind scattered the dust in every direction."

  "Well," continued the Tin Woodman, "after meeting the Scarecrow andDorothy, I went with them to the Emerald City, where the Wizard of Ozgave me a heart. But the Wizard's stock of hearts was low, and he gaveme a Kind Heart instead of a Loving Heart, so that I could not loveNimmie Amee any more than I did when I was heartless."

  "Couldn't the Wizard give you a heart that was both Kind and Loving?"asked the boy.

  "No; that was what I asked for, but he said he was so short on hearts,just then, that there was but one in stock, and I could take that ornone at all. So I accepted it, and I must say that for its kind it is avery good heart indeed."

  "It seems to me," said Woot, musingly, "that the Wizard fooled you. Itcan't be a very Kind Heart, you know."

  "Why not?" demanded the Emperor.

  "Because it was unkind of you to desert the girl who loved you, and whohad been faithful and true to you when you were in trouble. Had theheart the Wizard gave you been a Kind Heart, you would have gone backhome and made the beautiful Munchkin girl your wife, and then broughther here to be an Empress and live in your splendid tin castle."

  The Tin Woodman was so surprised at this frank speech that for a timehe did nothing but stare hard at the boy Wanderer. But the Scarecrowwagged his stuffed head and said in a positive tone:

  "This boy is right. I've often wondered, myself, why you didn't go backand find that poor Munchkin girl."

  Then the Tin Woodman stared hard at his friend the Scarecrow. Butfinally he said in a serious tone of voice:

  "I must admit that never before have I thought of such a thing asfinding Nimmie Amee and making her Empress of the Winkies. But it issurely not too late, even now, to do this, for the girl must still beliving in the Munchkin Country. And, since this strange Wanderer hasreminded me of Nimmie Amee, I believe it is my duty to set out and findher. Surely it is not the girl's fault that I no longer love her, andso, if I can make her happy, it is proper that I should do so, and inthis way reward her for her faithfulness."

  "Quite right, my friend!" agreed the Scarecrow.

  "Will you accompany me on this errand?" asked the Tin Emperor.

  "Of course," said the Scarecrow.

  "And will you take me along?" pleaded Woot the Wanderer in an eagervoice.

  "To be sure," said the Tin Woodman, "if you care to join our party. Itwas you who first told me it was my duty to find and marry Nimmie Amee,and I'd like you to know that Nick Chopper, the Tin Emperor of theWinkies, is a man who never shirks his duty, once it is pointed out tohim."

  "It ought to be a pleasure, as well as a duty, if the girl is sobeautiful," said Woot, well pleased with the idea of the adventure.

  "Beautiful things may be admired, if not loved," asserted the Tin Man."Flowers are beautiful, for in
stance, but we are not inclined to marrythem. Duty, on the contrary, is a bugle call to action, whether you areinclined to act, or not. In this case, I obey the bugle call of duty."

  "When shall we start?" inquired the Scarecrow, who was always glad toembark upon a new adventure. "I don't hear any bugle, but when do wego?"

  "As soon as we can get ready," answered the Emperor. "I'll call myservants at once and order them to make preparations for our journey."