irl."

The Shaggy Man looked at him in surprise.

"You ought to care for Ozma," said he, "if you expect to save your
uncle. For, if you displease our powerful Ruler, your journey will
surely prove a failure; whereas, if you make a friend of Ozma, she will
gladly assist you. As for her being a girl, that is another reason why
you should obey her laws, if you are courteous and polite. Everyone in
Oz loves Ozma and hates her enemies, for she is as just as she is
powerful."

Ojo sulked a while, but finally returned to the road and kept away from
the green clover. The boy was moody and bad tempered for an hour or two
afterward, because he could really see no harm in picking a six-leaved
clover, if he found one, and in spite of what the Shaggy Man had said
he considered Ozma's law to be unjust.

They presently came to a beautiful grove of tall and stately trees,
through which the road wound in sharp curves--first one way and then
another. As they were walking through this grove they heard some one in
the distance singing, and the sounds grew nearer and nearer until they
could distinguish the words, although the bend in the road still hid
the singer. The song was something like this:

"Here's to the hale old bale of straw
That's cut from the waving grain,
The sweetest sight man ever saw
In forest, dell or plain.
It fills me with a crunkling joy
A straw-stack to behold,
For then I pad this lucky boy
With strands of yellow gold."

"Ah!" exclaimed the Shaggy Man; "here comes my friend the Scarecrow."

"What, a live Scarecrow?" asked Ojo.

"Yes; the one I told you of. He's a splendid fellow, and very
intelligent. You'll like him, I'm sure."

Just then the famous Scarecrow of Oz came around the bend in the road,
riding astride a wooden Sawhorse which was so small that its rider's
legs nearly touched the ground.

The Scarecrow wore the blue dress of the Munchkins, in which country he
was made, and on his head was set a peaked hat with a flat brim trimmed
with tinkling bells. A rope was tied around his waist to hold him in
shape, for he was stuffed with straw in every part of him except the
top of his head, where at one time the Wizard of Oz had placed sawdust,
mixed with needles and pins, to sharpen his wits. The head itself was
merely a bag of cloth, fastened to the body at the neck, and on the
front of this bag was painted the face--ears, eyes, nose and mouth.

The Scarecrow's fac