aid, he was a good man,
even if he was a bad Wizard.

The first day's journey was through the green fields and bright flowers
that stretched about the Emerald City on every side. They slept that
night on the grass, with nothing but the stars over them; and they
rested very well indeed.

In the morning they traveled on until they came to a thick wood. There
was no way of going around it, for it seemed to extend to the right and
left as far as they could see; and, besides, they did not dare change
the direction of their journey for fear of getting lost. So they
looked for the place where it would be easiest to get into the forest.

The Scarecrow, who was in the lead, finally discovered a big tree with
such wide-spreading branches that there was room for the party to pass
underneath. So he walked forward to the tree, but just as he came
under the first branches they bent down and twined around him, and the
next minute he was raised from the ground and flung headlong among his
fellow travelers.

This did not hurt the Scarecrow, but it surprised him, and he looked
rather dizzy when Dorothy picked him up.

"Here is another space between the trees," called the Lion.

"Let me try it first," said the Scarecrow, "for it doesn't hurt me to
get thrown about." He walked up to another tree, as he spoke, but its
branches immediately seized him and tossed him back again.

"This is strange," exclaimed Dorothy. "What shall we do?"

"The trees seem to have made up their minds to fight us, and stop our
journey," remarked the Lion.

"I believe I will try it myself," said the Woodman, and shouldering his
axe, he marched up to the first tree that had handled the Scarecrow so
roughly. When a big branch bent down to seize him the Woodman chopped
at it so fiercely that he cut it in two. At once the tree began
shaking all its branches as if in pain, and the Tin Woodman passed
safely under it.

"Come on!" he shouted to the others. "Be quick!" They all ran forward
and passed under the tree without injury, except Toto, who was caught
by a small branch and shaken until he howled. But the Woodman promptly
chopped off the branch and set the little dog free.

The other trees of the forest did nothing to keep them back, so they
made up their minds that only the first row of trees could bend down
their branches, and that probably these were the policemen of the
forest, and given this wonderful power in order to keep strangers out