Meeting the Tinman and Lion

As Alice continued telling her story, Dorothy and the Scarecrow began to feel bad for her. A feeling of ease crept over Dorothy and the Scarecrow. They realized that she was an innocent, lost girl – just like Dorothy.

“So after I saw the rabbit, I began to chase him. Eventually, I stumbled and fell into a rabbit hole. A few seconds later, I hit the ground. Thankfully, I wasn’t hurt. I stood up and saw several small doors – much too small for me to walk through. But there was a cake on the table that said ‘eat me’, so I took a bite. Suddenly, I began to shrink. So I chose one of the doors and opened it. That is how I ended up in the Land of Oz. I wandered around until I found a few Munchkins. They were very, very kind. They listened to my story, and they also sent me this way, following the yellow brick road. I decided to stay here for the night, but I obviously did not expect you all to be here too.”

Dorothy and the Scarecrow looked at each other and gave a nod of approval.

“We are going to see Oz in Emerald City to see if he will help us. We would love if you came, too! I am positive he would help you get back to Wonderland!” Dorothy exclaimed.

“Aw, you guys are so sweet. I really appreciate that. I would love to join you! It will be such a great adventure,” replied Alice.

So the three friends left the cottage and continued to follow the yellow brick road. As they were walking, they heard a faint cry. At first, they thought for sure it was a scary monster. Dorothy grabbed Toto and ran and hid behind the Scarecrow.

“What was that?” asked Alice, as her voice was quivering.

“Help me. Help me,” the faint voice said.

Alice walked towards a huge pine tree, and looked around the backside. There was a Tinman, standing completely still. He pointed to an oilcan that was nearby. She grabbed the oilcan and began oiling his joints. After a couple of minutes, the Tinman was able to talk.

“Thank you very much for your help. I have been stranded here for almost one year.”

“Oh no, that is horrible!” exclaimed Dorothy and Alice. They were shocked.

The Tinman began telling his story. He loved a woman, but the Wicked Witch of the East had to prevent this marriage by the wishes of the woman’s mother. So the Witch made the ax slip from his hands every time he had to cut trees down. Eventually, he cut off all of his limbs and ended up losing his heart.

“All I want is a heart so I can love again,” said the Tinman.

“Please, come with us to see Oz! We are asking him to help Alice and I return home and give the Scarecrow a brain. He can give you a heart, too! Dorothy said.

As the Tinman was showing his gratitude for the new friends and their invitation, there was a terrifying roar that came from behind him in the dark forest.

Suddenly a lion appeared from behind one of the trees. He began creeping towards the group, preying on them.

The friends were absolutely terrified. They could not even take a breath. But then Toto suddenly lunged towards the lion, barking hysterically. The lion was so scared, so he turned around and started running the other direction with his tail tucked.

Dorothy called out for the lion. “We aren’t going to hurt you. Please come back!”

Soon the lion approached them. “I’m so sorry for scaring you guys. I am just so afraid. I want to be able to scare someone besides myself. I just want some courage.”

Dorothy knew just what to say. She asked the Lion if he would join them on the journey to see Oz. The Lion agreed, and they continued on their journey towards Emerald City.

As they continued towards Emerald City, they stumbled upon a huge ditch in the middle of the yellow brick road. They had to find a way around it. So they walked off the path, and followed a rabbit trail. Alice was worried; “this is what got me into trouble last time!” cried Alice.

Dorothy assured Alice it would be okay once she saw the beautiful filed of poppies ahead of them. “I love the smell of flowers,” said Dorothy.

As they started through the poppy field, they began to feel sleepy. Dorothy, Toto, Alice, and the Lion unexpectedly fell asleep. They collapsed into the poppies.

"What are we going to do now," said the Tinman and the Scarecrow. "They could die if we abandoned them here."

Author's Note:

This part of the story is based off of Chapters 5, 6, and 8. in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. After leaving the cottage, they returned to the yellow brick road to continue their journey, but they heard a groaning sound. They turned around and saw a tin man who seemed to be frozen with an ax in his hand. He told them to get his oil, and they began oiling his joints. Eventually, he was able to move again. Then he told them the story about his previous life and why he wanted to go to Oz to get a heart. After inviting him to join them, they heard a frightening noise as they were traveling down the yellow brick road. A lion came out of the trees, knocked the Scarecrow to the ground and opened his mouth to bite Toto. Dorothy ran over and smacked him in the nose and the Lion was so upset. He explained how he was cowardly and lacked any courage. Dorothy invited the Lion to go with them to see Oz. They stumbled upon a wide river and the Tin Woodman had to build a raft to cross it. Soon after crossing, they came across a poppy field. Soon after, they realized the poppies were making them very sleepy. But before they were able to escape, Dorothy, Toto, and the Lion all fell asleep.

I did not focus too much on chapter 7 in my story because it was more of a side story that did not have a lot of relevance to their story to get to Oz. Since the original book is over 250 pages, I am forced to cut down on many of the details so I can get to the end of the story in my storybook. Alice has not yet developed a large role in the story because I am still developing the other characters.

Bibliography:

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum (1900).

Image information:

Cowardly Lion. Web Source.

Tin Woodman. Web Source.