as he was able to. The sun soon dried
her and the colors of her patches proved good, for they did not run
together nor did they fade.

After passing the wall of water the current did not change or flow
backward any more but continued to sweep them steadily forward. The
banks of the river grew lower, too, permitting them to see more of the
country, and presently they discovered yellow buttercups and dandelions
growing amongst the grass, from which evidence they knew they had
reached the Winkie Country.

"Don't you think we ought to land?" Dorothy asked the Scarecrow.

"Pretty soon," he replied. "The Tin Woodman's castle is in the southern
part of the Winkie Country, and so it can't be a great way from here."

Fearing they might drift too far, Dorothy and Ojo now stood up and
raised the Scarecrow in their arms, as high as they could, thus
allowing him a good view of the country. For a time he saw nothing he
recognized, but finally he cried:

"There it is! There it is!"

"What?" asked Dorothy.

"The Tin Woodman's tin castle. I can see its turrets glittering in the
sun. It's quite a way off, but we'd better land as quickly as we can."

They let him down and began to urge the raft toward the shore by means
of the pole. It obeyed very well, for the current was more sluggish
now, and soon they had reached the bank and landed safely.

The Winkie Country was really beautiful, and across the fields they
could see afar the silvery sheen of the tin castle. With light hearts
they hurried toward it, being fully rested by their long ride on the
river.

By and by they began to cross an immense field of splendid yellow
lilies, the delicate fragrance of which was very delightful.

"How beautiful they are!" cried Dorothy, stopping to admire the
perfection of these exquisite flowers.

"Yes," said the Scarecrow, reflectively, "but we must be careful not to
crush or injure any of these lilies."

"Why not?" asked Ojo.

"The Tin Woodman is very kind-hearted," was the reply, "and he hates to
see any living thing hurt in any way."

"Are flowers alive?" asked Scraps.

"Yes, of course. And these flowers belong to the Tin Woodman. So, in
order not to offend him, we must not tread on a single blossom."

"Once," said Dorothy, "the Tin Woodman stepped on a beetle and killed
the little creature. That made him very unhappy and he cried until his
tears rusted his joints, so he couldn't move 'em."

"What did he do then?" asked Ojo.