ful things may be admired, if not loved," asserted the Tin Man.
"Flowers are beautiful, for instance, but we are not inclined to marry
them. Duty, on the contrary, is a bugle call to action, whether you are
inclined to act, or not. In this case, I obey the bugle call of duty."

"When shall we start?" inquired the Scarecrow, who was always glad to
embark upon a new adventure. "I don't hear any bugle, but when do we
go?"

"As soon as we can get ready," answered the Emperor. "I'll call my
servants at once and order them to make preparations for our journey."

Chapter Three

Roundabout

Woot the Wanderer slept that night in the tin castle of the Emperor of
the Winkies and found his tin bed quite comfortable. Early the next
morning he rose and took a walk through the gardens, where there were
tin fountains and beds of curious tin flowers, and where tin birds
perched upon the branches of tin trees and sang songs that sounded like
the notes of tin whistles. All these wonders had been made by the
clever Winkie tinsmiths, who wound the birds up every morning so that
they would move about and sing.

After breakfast the boy went into the throne room, where the Emperor
was having his tin joints carefully oiled by a servant, while other
servants were stuffing sweet, fresh straw into the body of the
Scarecrow.

Woot watched this operation with much interest, for the Scarecrow's
body was only a suit of clothes filled with straw. The coat was
buttoned tight to keep the packed straw from falling out and a rope was
tied around the waist to hold it in shape and prevent the straw from
sagging down. The Scarecrow's head was a gunnysack filled with bran, on
which the eyes, nose and mouth had been painted. His hands were white
cotton gloves stuffed with fine straw. Woot noticed that even when
carefully stuffed and patted into shape, the straw man was awkward in
his movements and decidedly wobbly on his feet, so the boy wondered if
the Scarecrow would be able to travel with them all the way to the
forests of the Munchkin Country of Oz.

The preparations made for this important journey were very simple. A
knapsack was filled with food and given Woot the Wanderer to carry upon
his back, for the food was for his use alone. The Tin Woodman
shouldered an axe which was sharp and brightly polished, and the
Scarecrow put the Emperor's oil-can in his pocket, that he might oil
his friend's joints should they need it.

"Who will gover