to had fallen down beside his little mistress. But the
Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman, not being made of flesh, were not
troubled by the scent of the flowers.

"Run fast," said the Scarecrow to the Lion, "and get out of this deadly
flower bed as soon as you can. We will bring the little girl with us,
but if you should fall asleep you are too big to be carried."

So the Lion aroused himself and bounded forward as fast as he could go.
In a moment he was out of sight.

"Let us make a chair with our hands and carry her," said the Scarecrow.
So they picked up Toto and put the dog in Dorothy's lap, and then they
made a chair with their hands for the seat and their arms for the arms
and carried the sleeping girl between them through the flowers.

On and on they walked, and it seemed that the great carpet of deadly
flowers that surrounded them would never end. They followed the bend
of the river, and at last came upon their friend the Lion, lying fast
asleep among the poppies. The flowers had been too strong for the huge
beast and he had given up at last, and fallen only a short distance
from the end of the poppy bed, where the sweet grass spread in
beautiful green fields before them.

"We can do nothing for him," said the Tin Woodman, sadly; "for he is
much too heavy to lift. We must leave him here to sleep on forever,
and perhaps he will dream that he has found courage at last."

"I'm sorry," said the Scarecrow. "The Lion was a very good comrade for
one so cowardly. But let us go on."

They carried the sleeping girl to a pretty spot beside the river, far
enough from the poppy field to prevent her breathing any more of the
poison of the flowers, and here they laid her gently on the soft grass
and waited for the fresh breeze to waken her.

9. The Queen of the Field Mice

"We cannot be far from the road of yellow brick, now," remarked the
Scarecrow, as he stood beside the girl, "for we have come nearly as far
as the river carried us away."

The Tin Woodman was about to reply when he heard a low growl, and
turning his head (which worked beautifully on hinges) he saw a strange
beast come bounding over the grass toward them. It was, indeed, a
great yellow Wildcat, and the Woodman thought it must be chasing
something, for its ears were lying close to its head and its mouth was
wide open, showing two rows of ugly teeth, while its red eyes glowed
like balls of fire. As it came nearer the Tin Woodman saw tha