t the Scarecrow. But
after a moment he replied:

"I had home and friends, your Honorable Strawness, but they were so
quiet and happy and comfortable that I found them dismally stupid.
Nothing in that corner of Oz interested me, but I believed that in
other parts of the country I would find strange people and see new
sights, and so I set out upon my wandering journey. I have been a
wanderer for nearly a full year, and now my wanderings have brought me
to this splendid castle."

"I suppose," said the Tin Woodman, "that in this year you have seen so
much that you have become very wise."

"No," replied Woot, thoughtfully, "I am not at all wise, I beg to
assure your Majesty. The more I wander the less I find that I know, for
in the Land of Oz much wisdom and many things may be learned."

"To learn is simple. Don't you ask questions?" inquired the Scarecrow.

"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."

"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 satisf