All this time Dorothy and her companions had been walking through the thick woods. The road was still paved with yellow brick, but these were much covered by dried branches and dead leaves from the trees, and the walking was not at all good.

There were few birds in this part of the forest, for birds love the open country where there is plenty of sunshine. But now and then there came a deep growl from some wild animal hidden among the trees. These sounds made the little girl's heart beat fast, for she did not know what made them; but Toto knew, and he walked close to Dorothy's side, and did not even bark in return.

“How long will it be,”the child asked of the Tin Woodman, “before we are out of the forest?”

“I cannot tell,”was the answer, “for I have never been to the Emerald City. But my father went there once, when I was a boy, and he said it was a long journey through a dangerous country, although nearer to the city where Oz dwells the country is beautiful. But I am not afraid so long as I have my oil-can, and nothing can hurt the Scarecrow, while you bear upon your forehead the mark of the Good Witch's kiss, and that will protect you from harm.”

“But Toto!”said the girl anxiously. “What will protect him?”

“We must protect him ourselves if he is in danger,”replied the Tin Woodman.

Just as he spoke there came from the forest a terrible roar, and the next moment a great Lion bounded into the road. With one blow of his paw he sent the Scarecrow spinning over and over to the edge of the road, and then he struck at the Tin Woodman with his sharp claws. But, to the Lion's surprise, he could make no impression on the tin, although the Woodman fell over in the road and lay still.

Little Toto, now that he had an enemy to face, ran barking toward the Lion, and the great beast had opened his mouth to bite the dog, when Dorothy, fearing Toto would be killed, and heedless of danger, rushed forward and slapped the Lion upon his nose as hard as she could, while she cried out: “Don't you dare to bite Toto! You ought to be ashamed of yourself, a big beast like you, to bite a poor little dog!”

“I didn't bite him,”said the Lion, as he rubbed his nose with his paw where Dorothy had hit it.

“No, but you tried to,”she retorted. “You are nothing but a big coward.”

“I know it,”said the Lion, hanging his head in shame. “I've always known it. But how can I help it?”

“I don't know, I'm sure. To think of your striking a stuffed man, like the poor Scarecrow!”

“Is he stuffed?”asked the Lion in surprise, as he watched her pick up the Scarecrow and set him upon his feet, while she patted him into shape again.

“Of course he's stuffed,”replied Dorothy, who was still angry.

“That's why he went over so easily,”remarked the Lion. “It astonished me to see him whirl around so. Is the other one stuffed, also?”

“No,”said Dorothy, “he's made of tin.”And she helped the Woodman up again.

“That's why he nearly blunted my claws,”said the Lion. “When they scratched against the tin it made a cold shiver run down my back. What is that little animal you are so tender of?”

“He is my dog, Toto,”answered Dorothy.

“Is he made of tin, or stuffed?”asked the Lion.

“Neither. He's a—a—a meat dog,”said the girl.

“Oh! He's a curious animal and seems remarkably small, now that I look at him. No one would think of biting such a little thing, except a coward like me,”continued the Lion sadly.

“What makes you a coward?”asked Dorothy, looking at the great beast in wonder, for he was as big as a small horse.

“It's a mystery,”replied the Lion. “I suppose I was born that way. All the other animals in the forest naturally expect me to be brave, for the Lion is everywhere thought to be the King of Beasts. I learned that if I roared very loudly every living thing was frightened and got out of my way. Whenever I've met a man I've been awfully scared; but I just roared at him, and he has always run away as fast as he could go. If the elephants and the tigers and the bears had ever tried to fight me, I should have run myself—I'm such a coward; but just as soon as they hear me roar they all try to get away from me, and of course I let them go.”

“But that isn't right. The King of Beasts shouldn't be a coward,”said the Scarecrow.

“I know it,”returned the Lion, wiping a tear from his eye with the tip of his tail. “It is my great sorrow, and makes my life very unhappy. But whenever there is danger, my heart begins to beat fast.”

“Perhaps you have heart disease,”said the Tin Woodman.

“It may be,”said the Lion.

“If you have,”continued the Tin Woodman, “you ought to be glad, for it proves you have a heart. For my part, I have no heart; so I cannot have heart disease.”

“Perhaps,”said the Lion thoughtfully, “if I had no heart I should not be a coward.”

“Have you brains?”asked the Scarecrow.

“I suppose so. I've never looked to see,”replied the Lion.

“I am going to the Great Oz to ask him to give me some,”remarked the Scarecrow,“for my head is stuffed with straw.”

“And I am going to ask him to give me a heart,”said the Woodman.

“And I am going to ask him to send Toto and me back to Kansas,”added Dorothy.

“Do you think Oz could give me courage?”asked the Cowardly Lion.

“Just as easily as he could give me brains,”said the Scarecrow.

“Or give me a heart,”said the Tin Woodman.

“Or send me back to Kansas,”said Dorothy.

“Then, if you don't mind, I'll go with you,”said the Lion, “for my life is simply unbearable without a bit of courage.”

“You will be very welcome,”answered Dorothy, “for you will help to keep away the other wild beasts. It seems to me they must be more cowardly than you are if they allow you to scare them so easily.”

“They really are,”said the Lion, “but that doesn't make me any braver, and as long as I know myself to be a coward I shall be unhappy.”

So once more the little company set off upon the journey, the Lion walking with stately strides at Dorothy's side. Toto did not approve this new comrade at first, for he could not forget how nearly he had been crushed between the Lion's great jaws. But after a time he became more at ease, and presently Toto and the Cowardly Lion had grown to be good friends.

During the rest of that day there was no other adventure to mar the peace of their journey.

Once, indeed, the Tin Woodman stepped upon a beetle that was crawling along the road, and killed the poor little thing. This made the Tin Woodman very unhappy, for he was always careful not to hurt any living creature; and as he walked along he wept several tears of sorrow and regret. These tears ran slowly down his face and over the hinges of his jaw, and there they rusted. When Dorothy presently asked him a question the Tin Woodman could not open his mouth, for his jaws were tightly rusted together. He became greatly frightened at this and made many motions to Dorothy to relieve him, but she could not understand. The Lion was also puzzled to know what was wrong. But the Scarecrow seized the oil-can from Dorothy's basket and oiled the Woodman's jaws, so that after a few moments he could talk as well as before.

“This will serve me a lesson,”said he, “to look where I step. For if I should kill another bug or beetle I should surely cry again, and crying rusts my jaws so that I cannot speak.”

Thereafter he walked very carefully, with his eyes on the road, and when he saw a tiny ant toiling by he would step over it, so as not to harm it. The Tin Woodman knew very well he had no heart, and therefore he took great care never to be cruel or unkind to anything.

“You people with hearts,”he said, “have something to guide you, and need never do wrong; but I have no heart, and so I must be very careful. When Oz gives me a heart of course I needn't mind so much.”

在這段時間里，多蘿西和她的同伴們一直在密林里走著。雖然這條路仍是黃磚鋪的，但樹林里落了好多枯枝敗葉，所以路一點兒也不好走。

在這一帶的森林中，小鳥不多，因為它們喜歡陽光充足的開闊地帶。可是，樹林里不時傳來隱藏著的某個野獸的低沉吼叫。這些聲音使小女孩心跳加快，因為她不知道是什么東西發出的聲音；可是，透透知道，它緊貼著多蘿西的身邊走，甚至沒有回應著吠叫幾聲。

小女孩問鐵皮樵夫：“我們多長時間才會走出這森林？”

“我說不清，”他回答說，“因為我從來沒有去過翡翠城。可我的父親去過那里一次，那時我還是小孩子。他說那是一個漫長的旅程，要經過一個危險地區，盡管離奧茲居住的城市較近的地區非常美麗。不過，只要我有了油壺，就不害怕；而且什么也無法傷害稻草人，再說你的額頭上帶著好女巫吻過的標記，那會使你免受傷害。”

“可是，透透呢！”小女孩不安地說，“什么來保護它？”

“如果它遇到危險，我們必須親自保護它。”鐵皮樵夫回答說。

他正說話時，從森林中傳來一聲可怕的吼叫。緊接著，一頭大獅子跳到了路上，一爪子把稻草人打得滴溜溜轉，翻倒在路邊，隨后又用利爪向鐵皮樵夫擊去。可是，讓獅子吃驚的是，它無法在鐵皮人身上留下任何抓痕，盡管鐵皮樵夫也翻倒在路上，躺在那里一動不動。

小透透現在遇到了敵人，吠叫著奔向獅子。大獅子張開嘴去咬小狗。這時，多蘿西害怕透透被咬死，就不顧危險，沖上前用力扇獅子的鼻子，同時大聲喊道：“你竟敢咬透透！你應該為自己感到慚愧，像你這樣大的一頭野獸，卻要去咬一只可憐的小狗！”

“我沒有咬它，”獅子用爪子擦著自己的鼻子說，因為多蘿西打中了它的鼻子。

“不，你剛才想，”她反駁說，“你只是一個大個頭的膽小鬼。”

“我知道，”獅子羞愧地耷拉著腦袋說，“我一向知道。可我怎么才能補救呢？”

“我不知道，我肯定。想想吧，你竟去打可憐的用稻草填充的稻草人！”

“他是填充的？”獅子一邊吃驚地問，一邊望著她扶起稻草人讓他站穩，同時拍拍他，使他又恢復了原樣。

“他當然是填充的。”多蘿西回答說，仍然感到生氣。

“這就是他這樣容易翻倒的原因，”獅子說，“剛才看他那樣旋轉讓我驚訝。另一個也是填充的嗎？”

“不，”多蘿西說，“他是鐵皮做的。”說著，她又扶起鐵皮樵夫。

“這就是他差點兒把我的爪子弄鈍的原因，”獅子說，“我的爪子抓在鐵皮上時，我的后背不由打了個冷戰。那是一只什么小動物，值得你這樣照顧？”

“它是我的狗，透透。”多蘿西回答說。

“它是鐵皮做的，還是填充的？”獅子問。

“兩個都不是。它是一、一、一只肉狗。”女孩說。

“噢！它是一只好奇的動物，現在我看著它，它好像非常小。除了像我這樣的膽小鬼，沒有人想去咬這樣一個小東西。”獅子繼續傷心地說。

“什么東西使你變成了膽小鬼？”多蘿西問，她驚奇地看著這頭大野獸，因為它大得像一匹小馬。

“這是一個謎，”獅子回答說，“我想我生來就是這樣的。樹林中的所有其他野獸自然都以為我勇敢，因為獅子無論在什么地方都被稱為百獸之王。我知道，如果我吼聲很響，每一種生物都會膽戰心驚，給我讓路。無論什么時候，當我遇到一個人，我都嚇得要死，但我還是對他吼叫，所以他總是盡快逃走。如果大象、老虎和熊想跟我打架，我就會跑——我就是這樣一個膽小鬼；可是，它們一聽到我吼叫，便都逃離我，我當然也會放它們走。”

“可那是不對的。百獸之王不該是膽小鬼。”稻草人說。

“我知道，”獅子回答說，同時用尾巴尖從眼里擦去一滴眼淚，“這是我最大的悲哀，而且使我的生活過得很不愉快。可一有危險，我的心就開始跳得很快。”

“也許你有心臟病吧。”鐵皮樵夫說。

“也許是吧。”獅子說。

“如果有，”鐵皮樵夫接著說道，“你應該高興，因為那證明你有一顆心。對我來說，我沒有心，所以不會有心臟病。”

“也許是，”獅子想了想說，“如果我沒有心，就不會是膽小鬼了。”

“你有腦子嗎？”稻草人問。

“我想有。我壓根沒有指望有過。”獅子回答說。

“我要到偉大的奧茲那里去請他給我一些腦子，”稻草人說，“因為我的腦袋里塞滿了稻草。”

“我打算去請他給我一顆心。”鐵皮樵夫說。

“我將請求他把我和透透送回堪薩斯州。”多蘿西補充說。

“你們認為奧茲能給我膽量嗎？”膽小獅問道。

“就像他給我腦子一樣容易。”稻草人說。

“或者像給我一顆心一樣容易。”鐵皮樵夫說。

“或者像把我送回堪薩斯州一樣容易。”多蘿西說。

“那么，如果你們不介意，我就和你們一塊去。”獅子說，“因為沒有一點兒膽量，我的生活簡直難以忍受。”

“非常歡迎你。”多蘿西回答說，“因為你會幫助我們嚇走其他野獸。在我看來，如果它們被你這樣輕易嚇走，它們肯定比你更膽小。”

“它們確實膽小，”獅子說，“可那并不能使我更勇敢。只要我知道自己是個膽小鬼，我就會不開心。”

于是，這一小隊伙伴又動身上路了，獅子威風凜凜地走在多蘿西身邊。透透起初不滿意這個新伙伴，因為它無法忘記自己差點兒在獅子的大牙之間被咬得粉碎。可是，過了一會兒，透透漸漸地放松，沒多久便和膽小獅成了好朋友。

那天剩下的時間里，再沒有其他危險來破壞他們旅途的和平。

其實，有一次，鐵皮樵夫踩在了正在沿路爬行的一只甲蟲身上，并踩死了可憐的小東西。這就使鐵皮樵夫很不高興，因為他總是小心翼翼不去傷害任何生物；他一邊向前走，一邊流下了好幾滴傷心和悔恨的眼淚。這些眼淚慢慢地從他的臉上流下來，流過他的頜關節，于是那里的關節就生銹了。過了一會兒，當多蘿西問鐵皮樵夫一個問題時，他張不開嘴了，因為他的下巴緊緊地銹在了一起。他對此大驚失色，朝多蘿西做了好多救他的動作，但她無法明白。獅子也不知道出了什么毛病。幸虧，稻草人從多蘿西的籃子里一把拿起油壺，在鐵皮樵夫的下巴上加了幾滴油，沒多大一會兒，鐵皮樵夫就能像以前一樣說話了。

“這給我了一個教訓，”鐵皮樵夫說，“走路要注意腳下。因為如果我踩死另一只小蟲或甲蟲，我肯定又會哭，我一哭又會讓下巴生銹，這樣我就說不成話了。”

從那以后，他眼睛盯著路面，小心翼翼地走著，他看見一只小螞蟻正在辛苦地爬過，便跨了過去，以免傷害螞蟻。鐵皮樵夫非常清楚自己沒有心，所以就小心翼翼，絕不對任何東西殘忍無情。

“你們這些有心人，”他說，“有東西指導你們，絕不會做錯事；可是，我沒有心，所以我必須小心謹慎。等奧茲給了我一顆心時，我肯定不必那樣多加小心了。”