upon himself to relieve the constraint quickly descending upon him, and his straw mind compelled him to break the silence. In a desperate, jejune attempt at high wit, he blurted out the banal declaration, “Nice weather we’re having.” When she just looked at him curiously, he said, “I’m sorry.”

“What for?”

“For being so stupid and such dull company,” he answered dejectedly, convinced he was nothing but a pathetic cipher.

“My heavens! You shouldn’t put yourself down like that.” Then she continued kindly, “I’m enjoying walking with you. I’m enjoying every minute of it.”

The Scarecrow felt his self-consciousness slowly melt into a kind of euphoria. Did she really like him?

Now they walked in silence until they reached the point where the little, blue fences ended. Here they found the surrounding land rough and unplowed.

Toward evening, they came to a spot on the yellow brick road where the trees that straddled it were so large that their branches intertwined above, occluding most of what remained of the waning sunlight. Undaunted, they continued into the forbidding woods, until, after about an hour, they found themselves enveloped by a foreboding darkness.

Luckily, dogs and scarecrows can see well in crepuscular light, so Dorothy took hold of the Scarecrow’s arm, and they managed to proceed at a reasonable pace. She instructed the Scarecrow to watch for a place to sleep, and he soon spotted an empty cottage made of logs and branches.

He led the child through the trees and into the cottage, where she found a soft bed of dried leaves. With Toto beside her, she soon fell fast asleep. The Scarecrow, who was unaffected by the circadian rhythms of humans, stood all night in the corner of the room with nothing to do but listen to the soft, susurrant sounds of theambient wind.

The next morning, the sun was shining brightly. Dorothy, feeling hungry and grimy, led the Scarecrow to a small brook, where she washed. Then, casting the ablution in all directions with a few careless flicks of her wrists, she took some bread from her basket. While she ate, the Scarecrow opined that being human must be a great deal of trouble, what with all the concomitant hunger, thirst, and fatigue. But then he speculated that having a brain would make all that discomfort worth a lot of bother. Dorothy considered this awhile, but just as she was about to respond, she was startled to hear a deep, plaintive groan.

“What was that?” Dorothy asked, looking a little afraid.

“I can’t imagine. But let’s go see,” replied the Scarecrow.

Just then, coming from the same place as the previous sound, they heard a desperate, keening wail. The celerity of their response surprised Toto, who followed apace as Dorothy and the Scarecrow raced through the woods toward the person or thing from which these hideous sounds emanated.

Through the trees, a brilliant glint of light sharply struck Dorothy’s eye, and she saw that it was reflected from a piece of shiny tin! Toto barked wildly, as if disturbed by the