【英】《绿野仙踪》 第6集： The Journey to the Great Oz

That night they camped under a large tree. The Tin Woodman chopped wood and Dorothy built a fire to stay warm. She and Toto ate the last of their bread.

The Lion went into the forest and found his own supper. The Scarecrow found nuts for Dorothy’s basket. It took him a long time to pick up the nuts, but he was happy since it kept him away from the fire.

The next morning they started toward the Emerald City.

They had been walking an hour when they came to a large ditch that was very wide and very deep. None of them could climb down the steep sides.

“What will we do?” Dorothy asked.“I don’t know,” the Tin Woodman said. The Lion shook his shaggy mane.

But the Scarecrow said, “We can’t fly or climb down the ditch. Then we must stop here.”

“I think I can jump over it,” the Cowardly Lion said.

“You can carry us over on your back, one at a time,” the Scarecrow said.

“I’ll try,” said the Lion. “Who goes first?”

The Scarecrow said he would be first. “If you can’t jump over it, Dorothy would be killed or the Tin Woodman dented on the rocks. But a fall would not hurt me.”

“I’m afraid of falling,” the Cowardly Lion said, “but I must try. Get on my back.”

The Scarecrow sat on the Lion’s back. The Lion walked to the edge and crouched. With a great jump, he shot through the air and landed safely on the other side.

He went back for Dorothy and Toto. She climbed on his back and held on to his mane. The next minute it was as if she were flying. Then she was safe on the other side.

Then the Lion got the Tin Woodman.

The forest was very thick on the other side. They each wondered if they would ever find the end of the woods and see sunshine again. They soon heard strange noises in the forest.

“This is where the Kalidahs live,” the Lion whispered.

“What are the Kalidahs?” Dorothy asked.

“Monstrous beasts with bodies like bears and heads like tigers,” said the Lion. “They have claws that are long and sharp. I’m terribly afraid of them.”

Suddenly they came to another ditch that was too wide and deep for the Lion to leap over.

The Scarecrow said, “See this big tree by the ditch? The Tin Woodman can chop it down and it will fall across to the other side. We can walk across it.”

The Lion said, “A great idea! People would think you have brains in your head instead of straw.”

The Woodman chopped the tree almost through. Then the Lion put his strong legs against it and pushed. The tree fell across the ditch. The top branches lay on the other side.

As they started across the strange bridge, they heard a growl. They saw two beasts with bodies like bears and heads like tigers running at them.

“Cross over, quick!” the Scarecrow cried.

Dorothy held Toto and went first, the Tin Woodman followed, and the Scarecrow came next. The Lion was afraid, but turned and gave a terrible roar that made Dorothy scream. The beasts stopped and looked at him in surprise.

But since they were two and bigger, they rushed forward. The Lion crossed over the tree. The fierce beasts began to cross, too.

“We are lost,” the Lion said. “Stand close behind and I will fight them as long as I am alive.”

The Scarecrow had been thinking about what to do. He asked the Woodman to chop away the end of the tree on their side. The Tin Woodman used his ax at once. Just as the two Kalidahs were nearly across, the tree fell into the ditch with the beasts.

The Cowardly Lion said, “They frightened me so badly that my heart is still beating hard.” 

“I wish I had a heart to beat,” the Tin Woodman said sadly.

They all walked fast to get out of the forest. In the afternoon, they came to a wide river. On the other side they saw the yellow brick road running through a beautiful land. There were green meadows full of flowers. Trees were all around the road and full of fruit.

“How will we cross the river?” Dorothy asked.“Easy,” said the Scarecrow. “The Tin Woodman must build us a raft.”

The Woodman chopped down small trees to build the raft. The Scarecrow found a tree full of fruit and gave it to Dorothy, who happily ate.

It took the Woodman a long time to make the raft. That night they slept under the trees. Dorothy dreamed of the Emerald City and of the good Wizard of Oz, who would send her back home again.