biggest mice spoke.
"Is there anything we can do," it asked, "to repay you forsaving the life of our Queen?"
"Nothing that I know of," answered the Woodman; but theScarecrow, who had been trying to think, but could not because hishead was stuffed with straw, said, quickly, "Oh, yes; you can saveour friend, the Cowardly Lion, who is asleep in the poppy bed.""A Lion!" cried the little Queen. "Why, he would eat us all up.""Oh, no," declared the Scarecrow; "this Lion is a coward.""Really?" asked the Mouse.
"He says so himself," answered the Scarecrow, "and he wouldnever hurt anyone who is our friend. If you will help us to savehim I promise that he shall treat you all with kindness.""Very well," said the Queen, "we trust you. But what shall we do?""Are there many of these mice which call you Queen and are willingto obey you?"
"Oh, yes; there are thousands," she replied."Then send for them all to come here as soon as possible,and let each one bring a long piece of string."The Queen turned to the mice that attended her and told themto go at once and get all her people. As soon as they heard herorders they ran away in every direction as fast as possible."Now," said the Scarecrow to the Tin Woodman, "you must go tothose trees by the riverside and make a truck that will carry the Lion."So the Woodman went at once to the trees and began to work;and he soon made a truck out of the limbs of trees, from which hechopped away all the leaves and branches. He fastened it togetherwith wooden pegs and made the four wheels out of short pieces of abig tree trunk. So fast and so well did he work that by the timethe mice began to arrive the truck was all ready for them.They came from all directions, and there were thousands ofthem: big mice and little mice and middle-sized mice; and eachone brought a piece of string in his mouth. It was about thistime that Dorothy woke from her long sleep and opened her eyes.She was greatly astonished to find herself lying upon the grass,with thousands of mice standing around and looking at her timidly.But the Scarecrow told her about everything, and turning to thedignified little Mouse, he said:
"Permit me to introduce to you her Majesty, the Queen."Dorothy nodded gravely and the Queen made a curtsy, afterwhich she became quite friendly with the little girl.The Scarecrow and the Woodman now began to fasten the mice tothe truck, using the strings they had brought. One end of astring was tied around the neck of each mouse and the other end tothe truck. Of course the truck was a thousand times bigger thanany of the mice who were to draw it; but when all the mice hadbeen harnessed, they were able to pull it quite easily. Even theScarecrow and the Tin Woodman could sit on it, and were drawn swiftlyby their queer little horses to the place where the Lion lay asleep.After a great deal of hard work, for the Lion was heavy, they
