First there was the Tin Woodman. Every bit of him was tin, brightly polished. All his joints4 were kept well oiled and moved smoothly5. He carried a gleaming axe6 to prove he was a woodman, but seldom had cause to use it because he lived in a magnificent tin castle in the Winkie Country of Oz and was the Emperor of all the Winkies. The Tin Woodman's name was Nick Chopper. He had a very good mind, but his heart was not of much account, so he was very careful to do nothing unkind or to hurt anyone's feelings.
Another counsellor was Scraps7, the Patchwork8 Girl of Oz, who was made of a gaudy9 patchwork quilt, cut into shape and stuffed with cotton. This Patchwork Girl was very intelligent, but so full of fun and mad pranks10 that a lot of more stupid folks thought she must be crazy. Scraps was jolly under all conditions, however grave they might be, but her laughter and good spirits were of value in cheering others and in her seemingly careless remarks much wisdom could often be found.
Then there was the Shaggy Man—shaggy from head to foot, hair and whiskers, clothes and shoes—but very kind and gentle and one of Ozma's most loyal supporters.
Tik-Tok was there, a copper11 man with machinery12 inside him, so cleverly constructed that he moved, spoke13 and thought by three separate clock-works. Tik-Tok was very reliable because he always did exactly what he was wound up to do, but his machinery was liable to run down at times and then he was quite helpless until wound up again.
A different sort of person was Jack14 Pumpkinhead, one of Ozma's oldest friends and her companion on many adventures. Jack's body was very crude and awkward, being formed of limbs of trees of different sizes, jointed16 with wooden pegs17. But it was a substantial body and not likely to break or wear out, and when it was dressed the clothes covered much of its roughness. The head of Jack Pumpkinhead was, as you have guessed, a ripe pumpkin15, with the eyes, nose and mouth carved upon one side. The pumpkin was stuck on Jack's wooden neck and was liable to get turned sidewise or backward and then he would have to straighten it with his wooden hands.
The worst thing about this sort of a head was that it did not keep well and was sure to spoil sooner or later. So Jack's main business was to grow a field of fine pumpkins18 each year, and always before his old head spoiled he would select a fresh pumpkin from the field and carve the features on it very neatly19, and have it ready to replace the old head whenever it became necessary. He didn't always carve it the same way, so his friends never knew exactly what sort of an expression they would find on his face. But there was no mistaking him, because he was the only pumpkin-headed man alive in the Land of Oz.
A one-legged sailor-man was a member of Ozma's council. His name was Cap'n Bill and he had come to the Land of Oz with Trot20, and had been made welcome on account of his cleverness, honesty and good nature. He wore a wooden leg to replace the one he had lost and was a great friend of all the children in Oz because he could whittle21 all sorts of toys out of wood with his big jack-knife.
Professor H. M. Wogglebug, T. E., was another member of the council. The "H. M." meant Highly Magnified, for the Professor was once a little bug22, who became magnified to the size of a man and always remained so. The "T. E." meant that he was Thoroughly23 Educated. He was at the head of Princess Ozma's Royal Athletic24 College, and so that the students would not have to study and so lose much time that could be devoted25 to athletic sports, such as football, baseball and the like, Professor Wogglebug had invented the famous Educational Pills. If one of the college students took a Geography Pill after breakfast, he knew his geography lesson in an instant; if he took a Spelling Pill he at once knew his spelling lesson, and an Arithmetic Pill enabled the student to do any kind of sum without having to think about it.
These useful pills made the college very popular and taught the boys and girls of Oz their lessons in the easiest possible way. In spite of this, Professor Wogglebug was not a favorite outside his college, for he was very conceited26 and admired himself so much and displayed his cleverness and learning so constantly, that no one cared to associate with him. Ozma found him of value in her councils, nevertheless.
Perhaps the most splendidly dressed of all those present was a great frog as large as a man, called the Frogman, who was noted27 for his wise sayings. He had come to the Emerald City from the Yip Country of Oz and was a guest of honor. His long-tailed coat was of velvet28, his vest of satin and his trousers of finest silk. There were diamond buckles29 on his shoes and he carried a gold-headed cane30 and a high silk hat. All of the bright colors were represented in his rich attire31, so it tired one's eyes to look at him for long, until one became used to his splendor32.
The best farmer in all Oz was Uncle Henry, who was Dorothy's own uncle, and who now lived near the Emerald City with his wife Aunt Em. Uncle Henry taught the Oz people how to grow the finest vegetables and fruits and grains and was of much use to Ozma in keeping the Royal Storehouses well filled. He, too, was a counsellor.
The reason I mention the little Wizard of Oz last is because he was the most important man in the Land of Oz. He wasn't a big man in size but he was a man in power and intelligence and second only to Glinda the Good in all the mystic arts of magic. Glinda had taught him, and the Wizard and the Sorceress were the only ones in Oz permitted by law to practice wizardry and sorcery, which they applied33 only to good uses and for the benefit of the people.
The Wizard wasn't exactly handsome but he was pleasant to look at. His bald head was as shiny as if it had been varnished34; there was always a merry twinkle in his eyes and he was as spry as a schoolboy. Dorothy says the reason the Wizard is not as powerful as Glinda is because Glinda didn't teach him all she knows, but what the Wizard knows he knows very well and so he performs some very remarkable35 magic. The ten I have mentioned assembled, with the Scarecrow and Glinda, in Ozma's throne room, right after dinner that evening, and the Sorceress told them all she knew of the plight36 of Ozma and Dorothy.
"Of course we must rescue them," she continued, "and the sooner they are rescued the better pleased they will be; but what we must now determine is how they can be saved. That is why I have called you together in council."
"The easiest way," remarked the Shaggy Man, "is to raise the sunken island of the Skeezers to the top of the water again."
"Tell me how?" said Glinda.
"I don't know how, your Highness, for I have never raised a sunken island."
"We might all get under it and lift," suggested Professor Wogglebug.
"How can we get under it when it rests on the bottom of the lake?" asked the Sorceress.
"Why not pump the water out of the lake?" suggested the Patchwork Girl with a laugh.
"Do be sensible!" pleaded Glinda. "This is a serious matter, and we must give it serious thought."
"How big is the lake and how big is the island?" was the Frogman's question.
"None of us can tell, for we have not been there."
"In that case," said the Scarecrow, "it appears to me we ought to go to the Skeezer country and examine it carefully."
"Quite right," agreed the Tin Woodman.
"We-will-have-to-go-there-any-how," remarked Tik-Tok in his jerky machine voice.
"The question is which of us shall go, and how many of us?" said the Wizard.
"I shall go of course," declared the Scarecrow.
"And I," said Scraps.
"It is my duty to Ozma to go," asserted the Tin Woodman.
"I could not stay away, knowing our loved Princess is in danger," said the Wizard.
"We all feel like that," Uncle Henry said.
Finally one and all present decided38 to go to the Skeezer country, with Glinda and the little Wizard to lead them. Magic must meet magic in order to conquer it, so these two skillful magic-workers were necessary to insure the success of the expedition.
They were all ready to start at a moment's notice, for none had any affairs of importance to attend to. Jack was wearing a newly made Pumpkin-head and the Scarecrow had recently been stuffed with fresh straw. Tik-Tok's machinery was in good running order and the Tin Woodman always was well oiled.
"It is quite a long journey," said Glinda, "and while I might travel quickly to the Skeezer country by means of my stork39 chariot the rest of you will be obliged to walk. So, as we must keep together, I will send my chariot back to my castle and we will plan to leave the Emerald City at sunrise to-morrow."
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1
assortment
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| n.分类，各色俱备之物，聚集 | |
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advisers
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| 顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授 | |
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peculiarities
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| n. 特质, 特性, 怪癖, 古怪 | |
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joints
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| 接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语） | |
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smoothly
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| adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地 | |
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axe
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| n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减 | |
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scraps
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| 油渣 | |
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patchwork
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| n.混杂物；拼缝物 | |
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gaudy
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| adj.华而不实的；俗丽的 | |
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pranks
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| n.玩笑，恶作剧( prank的名词复数 ) | |
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copper
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| n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的 | |
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12
machinery
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| n.(总称)机械，机器；机构 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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14
jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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pumpkin
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| n.南瓜 | |
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jointed
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| 有接缝的 | |
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pegs
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| n.衣夹( peg的名词复数 )；挂钉；系帐篷的桩；弦钮v.用夹子或钉子固定( peg的第三人称单数 )；使固定在某水平 | |
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pumpkins
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| n.南瓜( pumpkin的名词复数 )；南瓜的果肉，南瓜囊 | |
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neatly
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| adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地 | |
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trot
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| n.疾走，慢跑；n.老太婆；现成译本；(复数）trots:腹泻（与the 连用）；v.小跑，快步走，赶紧 | |
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whittle
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| v.削（木头），削减；n.屠刀 | |
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bug
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| n.虫子；故障；窃听器；vt.纠缠；装窃听器 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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athletic
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| adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的 | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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conceited
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| adj.自负的，骄傲自满的 | |
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noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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velvet
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| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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buckles
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| 搭扣，扣环( buckle的名词复数 ) | |
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cane
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| n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的 | |
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attire
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| v.穿衣，装扮[同]array；n.衣着；盛装 | |
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32
splendor
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| n.光彩；壮丽，华丽；显赫，辉煌 | |
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applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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varnished
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| 浸渍过的，涂漆的 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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plight
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| n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定 | |
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ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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38
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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39
stork
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| n.鹳 | |
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