The Royal Book of Oz, Page 2

  CHAPTER 2

  THE SCARECROW'S FAMILY TREE

  The moon shone brightly, but everyone in the Emerald City was fastasleep! Through the deserted streets hurried the Scarecrow. For thefirst time since his discovery by little Dorothy, he was reallyunhappy. Living as he did in a Fairyland, he had taken many thingsfor granted and had rather prided himself on his unusual appearance.Indeed, not until Professor Wogglebug's rude remarks concerning hisfamily had he given his past a thought.

  "I am the only person in Oz without a family!" he reflectedsorrowfully. "Even the Cowardly Lion has kingly parents and a palmtree! But I must keep thinking. My brains have never failed me yet.Who was I? Who were I? Who were I?"

  Often he thought so hard that he forgot to look where he was goingand ran headlong into fences, stumbled down gutters, and over stiles.But fortunately, the dear fellow could not hurt himself, and he wouldstruggle up, pat his straw into shape, and walk straightway intosomething else. He made good time in between falls, however, and wassoon well on his way down the yellow brick road that ran through theMunchkin Country. For he had determined to return to the Munchkinfarm where Dorothy had first discovered him and try to find sometraces of his family.

  Now being stuffed with straw had many advantages, for requiringneither food nor sleep the Scarecrow could travel night and daywithout interruption. The stars winked out one by one, and by thetime the cocks of the Munchkin farmers began to crow, he had come tothe banks of a broad blue river!

  The Scarecrow took off his hat and scratched his head thoughtfully.Crossing rivers is no easy matter in Oz, for there isn't a ferry inthe Kingdom, and unless one is a good swimmer or equipped with someof the Wizard's magic it is mighty troublesome. Water does not agreewith the Scarecrow at all, and as for swimming, he can no more swimthan a bag of meal.

  But he was too wise a person to give up merely because a thingappeared to be impossible. It was for just such emergencies that hisexcellent brains had been given to him.

  "If Nick Chopper were here, he would build a raft in no time,"murmured the Scarecrow, "but as he is not, I must think of anotherway!"

  Turning his back on the river, which distracted his mind, he began tothink with all his might. Before he could collect his thoughts, therewas a tremendous crash, and next minute he was lying face down in themud. Several little crashes followed, and a shower of water. Then awet voice called out with a cheerful chuckle:

  "Come on out, my dear Rattles. Not a bad place at all, and here'sbreakfast already waiting!"

  "Breakfast!" The Scarecrow turned over cautiously. A huge and curiouscreature was slashing through the grass toward him. A smaller andstill more curious one followed. Both were extremely damp and hadevidently just come out of the river.

  "Good morning!" quavered the Scarecrow, sitting up with a jerk and atthe same time reaching for a stick that lay just behind him.

  "I won't eat it if it talks--so there!" The smaller creature stoppedand stared fixedly at the Scarecrow.

  The Scarecrow, hearing this, tried to think of something else to say,but the appearance of the two was so amazing that, as he told Dorothyafterwards, he was struck dumb. The larger was at least two hundredfeet long and made entirely of blocks of wood. On each block was aletter of the alphabet. The head was a huge square block with aserpent's face and long, curling, tape-measure tongue. The littleone was very much smaller and seemed to consist of hundreds ofrattles, wood, celluloid, and rubber, fastened together with wires.Every time it moved, the rattles tinkled. Its face, however, was notunpleasant, so the Scarecrow took heart and made a deep bow.

  "And I'm not going to eat anything that squirms." This time it wasthe big serpent who spoke.

  "Thank you!" said the Scarecrow, bowing several times more. "Yourelieve my mind. I've never been a breakfast yet, and I'd rather notbegin. But if I cannot be your breakfast, let me be your friend!" Heextended his arms impulsively.

  There was something so jolly about the Scarecrow's smile that the twocreatures became friendly at once, and moreover told him the story oftheir lives.

  "As you have doubtless noted," began the larger creature, "I am anA-B-Sea Serpent. I am employed in the nursery of the Mer children toteach them their letters. My friend, here, is a Rattlesnake, and itis his business to amuse the Mer babies while the Mermaids aremer-marketing. Once a year, we take a vacation, and proceeding from thesea depths up a strange river, we came out upon this shore. Perhapsyou, Sir, will be able to tell us where we are?"

  "You are in the Munchkin Country of the Land of Oz," explained theScarecrow politely. "It is a charming place for a vacation. I wouldshow you about myself if I were not bound on an important mission."Here the Scarecrow sighed deeply.

  "Have you a family?" he asked the A-B-Sea Serpent curiously.

  "Yes, indeed," replied the monster, snapping its tape-measure tonguein and out, "I have five great-grandmothers, twenty-one grandnieces,seven brothers, and six sisters-in-law!"

  "Ah!" murmured the Scarecrow, clasping his hands tragically, "How Ienvy you. I have no one--no aunts--no ancestors--no family--no familytree but a bean pole. I am, alas, a man without a _past!"_ TheScarecrow looked so dejected that the Rattlesnake thought he wasgoing to cry.

  "Oh, cheer up!" it begged in a distressed voice. "Think of your_presence_--here--I give you permission to shake me!" The Scarecrowwas so affected by this kind offer that he cheered up immediately.

  "No past but a presence--I'll remember that!" He swelled out hisstraw chest complacently, and leaning over, stroked the Rattlesnakeon the head.

  "Are you good at riddles?" asked the Rattlesnake timidly.

  "Well," answered the Scarecrow judiciously, "I have very good brains,given me by the famous Wizard of Oz."

  "Then why is the A-B-Sea Serpent like a city?" asked the Rattlesnakepromptly.

  The Scarecrow thought hard for several seconds.

  "Because it is made up of blocks!" he roared triumphantly. "That'seasy; now it's my turn. Why is the A-B-Sea Serpent such a slowtalker?"

  "Give it up!" said the Rattlesnake after shaking himself severaltimes.

  "Because his tongue is a tape measure, and he has to measure hiswords!" cried the Scarecrow, snapping his clumsy fingers. "And that'sa good one, if I did make it myself. I must remember to tell it toDorothy!"

  Then he sobered quite suddenly, for the thought of Dorothy broughtback the purpose of his journey. Interrupting the Rattlesnake in themidst of a new riddle, he explained how anxious he was to return tothe little farm where he had been discovered and try to find sometraces of his family.

  "And the real riddle," he sighed with a wave of his hand, "is how tocross this river."

  "That's easy and no riddle at all," rumbled the A-B-Sea Serpent, whohad been listening attentively to the Scarecrow's remarks. "I'llstretch across, and you can walk over." Suiting the action to theword, he began backing very cautiously toward the river so as not toshake the Scarecrow off his feet.

  "Mind your P's and Q's!" called the Rattlesnake warningly. It waswell that he spoke, for the A-B-Sea Serpent had doubled the P and Qblocks under, and they were ready to snap off. Finally, however, hemanaged to make a bridge of himself, and the Scarecrow stepped easilyover the blocks, the huge serpent holding himself rigid. Just as hereached Y, the unfortunate creature sneezed, and all the blocksrattled together. Up flew the Scarecrow and escaped falling into thestream only by the narrowest margin.

  "Blockhead!" shrilled the Rattlesnake, who had taken a great fancy tothe Scarecrow.

  "I'm all right," cried the Scarecrow rather breathlessly. "Thank youvery much!" He sprang nimbly up the bank. "Hope you have a pleasantvacation!"

  "Can't, with a rattlepate like that." The A-B-Sea Serpent noddedglumly in the Rattlesnake's direction.

  "Now don't quarrel," begged the Scarecrow. "You are both charming andunusual, and if you follow that Yellow Road, you will come to theEmerald City, and Ozma will be delighted to welcome you."

  "The Emerald City! We must see that, my dear
Rattles." Forgetting hismomentary displeasure, the A-B-Sea Serpent pulled himself out of theriver, and waving his X Y Z blocks in farewell to the Scarecrow, wentclattering down the road, the little Rattlesnake rattling alongbehind him.

  As for the Scarecrow, he continued his journey, and the day was sodelightful and the country so pleasant that he almost forgot he hadno family. He was treated everywhere with the greatest courtesy andhad innumerable invitations from the hospitable Munchkins. He wasanxious to reach his destination, however, so he refused them all,and traveling night and day came without further mishap or adventurelate on the second evening to the little Munchkin farm where Dorothyhad first discovered him. He was curious to know whether the pole onwhich he had been hoisted to scare away the crows still stood in thecornfield and whether the farmer who had made him could tell himanything further about his history.

  "It is a shame to waken him," thought the kind Scarecrow. "I'll justtake a look in the cornfield." The moon shone so brightly that he hadno trouble finding his way about. With a little cry of pleasure, hepushed his way through the dry cornstalks. There in the center of thefield stood a tall pole--the very identical bean pole from which hehad descended.

  "All the family or family tree I've got!" cried the Scarecrow,running toward it with emotion.

  "What's that?" A window in the farmhouse was thrown up, and a sleepyMunchkin thrust out his head. "What are you doing?" he calledcrossly.

  "Thinking!" said the Scarecrow, leaning heavily against the beanpole.

  "Well, don't do it out loud," snapped the farmer. Then, catching abetter view of the Scarecrow, he cried in surprise: "Why, it's you!--Come right in, my dear fellow, and give us the latest news from theEmerald City. I'll fetch a candle!"

  The farmer was very proud of the Scarecrow. He had made him long agoby stuffing one of his old suits with straw, painting a jolly face ona sack, stuffing that, and fastening the two together. Red boots, ahat, and yellow gloves had finished his man--and nothing could havebeen jollier than the result. Later on, when the Scarecrow had runoff with Dorothy and got his brains from the Wizard of Oz and becomeruler of the Emerald City, the little farmer had felt highlygratified.

  The Scarecrow, however, was not in a humor for conversation. Hewanted to think in peace. "Don't bother!" he called up. "I'm going tospend the night here. I'll see you in the morning."

  "All right! Take care of yourself," yawned the farmer, and drew inhis head.

  For a long time the Scarecrow stood perfectly still beside the beanpole--thinking. Then he got a spade from the shed and began clearingaway the cornstalks and dried leaves from around the base of thepole. It was slow work, for his fingers were clumsy, but hepersevered. Then a wonderful idea came to him.

  "Perhaps if I dig down a bit, I may discover--" He got no further,for at the word "discover," he pushed the spade down with all hismight. There was a loud crash. The bottom dropped out of things, andthe Scarecrow fell through.

  "Gr-eat cornstalks!" cried the Scarecrow, throwing up his arms. Tohis surprise, they came in contact with a stout pole, which heembraced. It was a lifesaver, for he was shooting down into thedarkness at a great rate.

  "Why!" he gasped as soon as he regained his breath, for he wasfalling at a terrific rate of speed, "Why, I believe I'm sliding downthe _bean pole!"_