"Yes; I ask as many questions as I dare; but some people refuse to
answer questions."

"That is not kind of them," declared the Tin Woodman. "If one does not
ask for information he seldom receives it; so I, for my part, make it a
rule to answer any civil question that is asked me."

"So do I," added the Scarecrow, nodding.

"I am glad to hear this," said the Wanderer, "for it makes me bold to
ask for something to eat."

[Illustration]

"Bless the boy!" cried the Emperor of the Winkies; "how careless of me
not to remember that wanderers are usually hungry. I will have food
brought you at once."

Saying this he blew upon a tin whistle that was suspended from his tin
neck, and at the summons a servant appeared and bowed low. The Tin
Woodman ordered food for the stranger, and in a few minutes the servant
brought in a tin tray heaped with a choice array of good things to eat,
all neatly displayed on tin dishes that were polished till they shone
like mirrors. The tray was set upon a tin table drawn before the throne,
and the servant placed a tin chair before the table for the boy to seat
himself.

"Eat, friend Wanderer," said the Emperor cordially, "and I trust the
feast will be to your liking. I, myself, do not eat, being made in such
manner that I require no food to keep me alive. Neither does my friend
the Scarecrow. But all my Winkie people eat, being formed of flesh, as
you are, and so my tin cupboard is never bare, and strangers are always
welcome to whatever it contains."

The boy ate in silence for a time, being really hungry, but after his
appetite was somewhat satisfied, he said:

"How happened your Majesty to be made of tin, and still be alive?"

"That," replied the tin man, "is a long story."

[Illustration]

"The longer the better," said the boy. "Won't you please tell me the
story?"

"If you desire it," promised the Tin Woodman, leaning back in his tin
throne and crossing his tin legs. "I haven't related my history in a
long while, because everyone here knows it nearly as well as I do. But
you, being a stranger, are no doubt curious to learn how I became so
beautiful and prosperous, so I will recite for your benefit my strange
adventures."

"Thank you," said Woot the Wanderer, still eating.

"I was not always made of tin," began the Emperor, "for in the beginning
I was a man of flesh and bone and blood and lived in the Munchkin
Country of Oz. There I was, by trade, a woodchopper, and contr