d I will
go at once to fight the monster."

He bade his comrades good-bye and marched proudly away to do battle
with the enemy.

The great spider was lying asleep when the Lion found him, and it
looked so ugly that its foe turned up his nose in disgust. Its legs
were quite as long as the tiger had said, and its body covered with
coarse black hair. It had a great mouth, with a row of sharp teeth a
foot long; but its head was joined to the pudgy body by a neck as
slender as a wasp's waist. This gave the Lion a hint of the best way
to attack the creature, and as he knew it was easier to fight it asleep
than awake, he gave a great spring and landed directly upon the
monster's back. Then, with one blow of his heavy paw, all armed with
sharp claws, he knocked the spider's head from its body. Jumping down,
he watched it until the long legs stopped wiggling, when he knew it was
quite dead.

The Lion went back to the opening where the beasts of the forest were
waiting for him and said proudly:

"You need fear your enemy no longer."

Then the beasts bowed down to the Lion as their King, and he promised
to come back and rule over them as soon as Dorothy was safely on her
way to Kansas.

22. The Country of the Quadlings

The four travelers passed through the rest of the forest in safety, and
when they came out from its gloom saw before them a steep hill, covered
from top to bottom with great pieces of rock.

"That will be a hard climb," said the Scarecrow, "but we must get over
the hill, nevertheless."

So he led the way and the others followed. They had nearly reached the
first rock when they heard a rough voice cry out, "Keep back!"

"Who are you?" asked the Scarecrow.

Then a head showed itself over the rock and the same voice said, "This
hill belongs to us, and we don't allow anyone to cross it."

"But we must cross it," said the Scarecrow. "We're going to the
country of the Quadlings."

"But you shall not!" replied the voice, and there stepped from behind
the rock the strangest man the travelers had ever seen.

He was quite short and stout and had a big head, which was flat at the
top and supported by a thick neck full of wrinkles. But he had no arms
at all, and, seeing this, the Scarecrow did not fear that so helpless a
creature could prevent them from climbing the hill. So he said, "I'm
sorry not to do as you wish, but we must pass over your hill whether
you like it or not," and he walked