第五章  拯救铁皮人

 

朵萝茜醒来时，阳光正透过树林子照耀着，托托老早就出去了，在追逐四周的小鸟和松鼠。她坐起来，环顾着她的周围。稻草人还是站在他那个角落里，等候着她醒来。

“我们必须去找点水来，”她对他说道。

“你要水干什么呢？”他问道。

“洗脸呀，要把一路上沾染的尘土洗刷干净；还要喝一些，这样，吃干面包时就不会曀住喉咙口了。”

“血肉之身真是麻烦，”稻草人若有所思地说道。“因为你们必须睡觉、吃饭、喝水。然而，你们有大脑，能正确思考，忍受许多麻烦还是值得的。”

于是他们离开小木屋，在树林中穿行着，终于找到了一小股清澈的泉水，朵萝茜在泉边喝了些水，梳洗干净了，接着吃了早餐。她看见篮子里的面包所剩不多，幸亏稻草人不用吃东西，因为只是她自己和多多吃，也几乎不够维持一天了。

她吃完饭，正打算回到黄砖路上继续前进，忽然听见附近传来一声低沉的呻吟，吓了她一跳。

“那是什么声音？”她胆怯地问道。

“我也想象不出来，”稻草人答道。“不过我们可以去看看。”

恰在这时，又一声呻吟传到了他们的耳朵，这声音似乎是来自背后。他们掉头朝树林里走了几步，朵萝茜发现，在透过树林子射进来的阳光下，有一样东西在闪光。她朝那个地方跑过去，然后突然停住了脚步，并轻轻发出一声惊叫。

一棵大树已经被砍斫得快到半中心了，在树旁站着一个完全用铁皮做成的人，双手高举着一把斧头。他的脑袋、胳膊和大腿都连接在他身上，但是他站在那儿纹丝不动，仿佛他根本就还能行动。

朵萝茜很惊诧地看着他，稻草人也很惊诧地看着他，而多多却冲着他厉声吠叫着，还在他铁皮腿上咬了一口，不料反而伤了自己的牙齿。

“刚才是你在呻吟吗？”朵萝茜问道。

“对，”铁皮人回答道。“是我。我已经呻吟了一年多了，但是一直没有人听见我，更没有人来帮我。”

“我能帮你做点什么吗？”她轻柔地问道，因为这个人说话的声音很悲伤可怜，她很受感动。

“你去找一罐油来，给我的关节都加点油，”他答道。“它们都锈得很厉害，我根本就不能行动了；如果给我上了润滑油，我很快就可以恢复正常。你们可以在我的小木屋的架子上找到一个油罐的。”

朵萝茜立刻跑回那个小木屋，找到了那个油罐，然后她又返回来，急切地问道：“你的关节都在哪儿啊？”

“先给我的颈脖子加些油吧，”铁皮人说道。所以她就在他脖子上加了些油，由于颈关节锈得太厉害了，稻草人抱住那铁皮脑袋，轻轻地左右摇晃，直到能活动自如，然后，那铁皮人自己也能灵活地转动脑袋了。

“现在，给我的肘关节加些油，”他说道。朵萝茜就给他的肘关节加了些油，稻草人小心地帮他做弯胳膊屈伸，直到肘关节不再锈住，能这样活动了，就象新的一样灵活。

铁皮人发出一声满意的叹息，便放下了斧子，把它靠在树上。

“这样真舒服，”他说道，“自从锈住了之后，我就一直把斧头举在空中，我很高兴终于能把它放下来了。现在，请给我的腿关节也加些油吧，这样我就可以重新灵活行动了。”

于是他们给他的腿关节加了些油，直到他的大腿也能自由活动了；他再三感谢他们解救了他，因为他看样子是一个很有礼貌、知道感恩的人。

“如果你们没有来，我很可能会永远站在这儿了，”他说道。“所以，当然是你们救了我的命。你们怎么碰巧来到这儿的呢？”

“我们正在赶路，要去翡翠城求见伟大的乌子，”她答道，“昨晚我们就在你的小木屋里歇脚过夜的。”

“你们为什么要去拜见乌子呢？”他问道。

“我想请他送我回到堪萨斯去，稻草人想请他把大脑放进他的脑袋里，”她答道。

铁皮樵夫似乎是深思了一会儿。然后他说道：

“你们觉得，乌子能给我一颗心吗？”

“嗯，我想他能，”朵萝茜回答道。“这事儿就和他赐给稻草人大脑一样简单。”

“真的，”铁皮人回应道。“那么，要是你们允许我入伙，我就和你们一起去翡翠城，请求乌子帮帮我。”

“来吧，”稻草人真心诚意地说道。朵萝茜还补充了一句，说她非常高兴和他结伴同行。于是，铁皮人扛起他的斧子，他们一起穿过林子，来到那条黄砖路上。

铁皮人刚才还请求朵萝茜把那油罐子放在她的篮子里。“因为，”他说道。“要是我淋了雨，又生锈了的话，我会非常需要加油的。”

他们一行有了新伙伴还真是幸运，因为他们重新踏上旅途后不久，就来到了一片林子，茂密的枝叶把路挡住了，行人没法通过。但是，铁皮人挥起他的斧子猛砍，很快就清理出了一条通道，让他们一行走了过去。

朵萝茜一边走路一边在专心思考着，没有注意到稻草人掉进一个小坑洞，滚到路边去了。他实在没有办法，只好大声叫喊，请她帮他再站起来。

“你为什么不绕过那个坑洞走呢？”铁皮人问道。

“我自己也不明白，”稻草人乐哈哈地答道。“你知道，我的脑袋里都是塞的稻草，所以我要去找乌子，请求他赐给我大脑。”

“噢，我明白了，”铁皮人说道。“不过，毕竟大脑并不是世界上最宝贵的东西。”

“你有大脑吗？”稻草人问道。

“没有，我的脑袋完全是空的，”铁皮人答道。“但是，我曾经有过大脑，还有一颗心；所以，把这两样都试过以后，我宁愿要一颗心。”

“那是为什么呢？”稻草人问道。

“那就给你讲讲我的故事吧，听完你就会明白了。”

于是，他们在森林里一边往前走，一边听铁皮樵夫讲了下面的故事：

“我出生在一个伐木人的家里，父亲在森林里砍伐树木，靠卖木头为生。我长大之后，也成了一名伐木人。父亲去世之后，我就照顾老母亲，一直到她去世。后来，我就决定不再过单身生活，我要结婚，这样就不会觉得寂寞了。

“有一个曼奇金姑娘，长得很漂亮，我很快就倾心爱上她了。就她个人而言，她许下了诺言，只要我能赚够一些钱，给她盖一幢象样点的房子，她就嫁给我；所以我比以往更加努力地干活。但是，和这姑娘住在一起的一个老太婆，不想让嫁人，因为她很懒，希望这姑娘留在她身边，为她做饭，做家务。于是，老太婆就去找东邪女巫，答应说，如果她可以阻止这桩婚事，就给她两只羊和一头牛。因此，那个邪恶女巫就对我的斧子施了魔法，有一天，由于我急着要盖好新房子，娶回那个姑娘，当我正在竭尽全力砍伐树木时，斧子却突然滑偏，把我的左腿砍掉了。

“开始，这似乎是一件很不幸的事，因为我知道，独腿的人不可能做好一个伐木人的活儿的。所以，我去找铁皮匠，请他用铁皮为我做了一条新腿。一旦习惯了，铁皮腿也很好使。但是我的行为激怒了东邪女巫，因为她曾经答应过老太婆，不让我和那位漂亮的曼奇金姑娘结婚。当我重新开始去伐木时，我的斧子又滑偏了，砍掉了我的右腿。我再次去找铁皮匠，他又用铁皮为我做了一条腿。后来，被施了魔法的斧子先后砍下了我的两条胳膊；但是这吓不倒我，我还是请人用铁胳膊来代替。接着，东邪女巫又让斧子滑偏，砍掉了我的脑袋，起先我以为自己这下子彻底完蛋了。但是那位铁皮匠碰巧来到这里，就用铁皮为我做了一个新脑袋。

“这时，我以为我已经击败了那个邪恶女巫，干活就比以前更起劲了；可是我根本不知道我的敌人有多么凶残。她又想出了一个新法子，想扼杀我对那个漂亮的曼奇金少女的爱，再一次使我的斧子滑偏，正好从中间划开我的躯体，把我劈成了两半。铁皮匠又一次来帮我，用铁皮给我做了一个躯体，并用许多关节，把我的铁皮胳膊、铁皮腿和铁皮脑袋，一一安装在铁皮躯体上，这样，我就能象以前一样，活动自如了。但是，哎！我现在没有心了，所以我就失去了对那个曼奇金姑娘全部的爱，至于能不能娶她，我也无所谓了。我猜想她现在仍然和老太婆住在一起，等着我去向她求婚呢。

“我的全身在阳光下闪闪放亮，我对此感到很骄傲，现在斧子再滑偏也没关系了，因为它再也砍不伤我了。现在这样一种危险，那就是我的关节会生锈；不过我在自己的小木屋里放了一罐油，注意随时给自己加油。但是有一天，我出去的时候，忘了给自己加油，碰巧遇上了暴风雨，我还没有意识到危险，我的关节就已经锈住了，就这样留下我一人孤苦伶仃地待在森林里，直到你们来这儿救了我。这实在是一种可怕的经历，不过在我站在那里一年多的时间里，我有时间认真地思考一些问题，我明白了，我最大的损失就是失去了我的心。在热恋中的那些日子里，我觉得自己是世界上最幸福的人；而没有心的人是不可能相爱的，所以我决定去找乌子，请求他赐给我一颗心。如果给了我，我就能回到那个曼奇金少女的身边，把她迎娶来。”

朵萝茜和稻草人都对铁皮人的故事听得很入迷，他们终于理解了他为什么急着要从新得到一颗心。

“尽管这样，”稻草人说道。“我还是希望能得到大脑，而不是要一颗心的；因为一个傻瓜即使有心，也会不知道怎么用。”

“我只想要一颗心，”铁皮人回应道。“因为大脑并不会使人幸福，而幸福是世上最美好的东西。”

朵萝茜什么也没说，因为她很困惑，不知道她的这两个朋友究竟谁是对的，她认定，只要自己能回到堪萨斯，回到艾姆大婶的身边，无论稻草人没有大脑，还是铁皮人没有心，或者他们都能得到各自想要的东西，都没有多大关系。

她目前最担心的是，面包快要吃完了，她和多多再吃一顿，篮子就会空空如也的。的确，铁皮人和稻草人从来都不吃东西，可她既不是铁皮做的，也不是稻草填的，不吃饭就不能会活命。

 

附录：原文

 

Chapter V The Rescue of the Tin Woodman

 

When Dorothy awoke the sun was shining through the trees and Toto had long been out chasing birds and squirrels. She sat up and looked around her. There was the Scarecrow, still standing patiently in his corner, waiting for her.

"We must go and search for water," she said to him.

"Why do you want water?" he asked.

"To wash my face clean after the dust of the road, and to drink, so the dry bread will not stick in my throat."

"It must be inconvenient to be made of flesh," said the Scarecrow, thoughtfully; "for you must sleep, and eat and drink. However, you have brains, and it is worth a lot of bother to be able to think properly."

They left the cottage and walked through the trees until they found a little spring of clear water, where Dorothy drank and bathed and ate her breakfast. She saw there was not much bread left in the basket, and the girl was thankful the Scarecrow did not have to eat anything, for there was scarcely enough for herself and Toto for the day.

When she had finished her meal, and was about to go back to the road of yellow brick, she was startled to hear a deep groan near by.

"What was that?" she asked, timidly.

"I cannot imagine," replied the Scarecrow; "but we can go and see."

Just then another groan reached their ears, and the sound seemed to come from behind them. They turned and walked through the forest a few steps, when Dorothy discovered something shining in a ray of sunshine that fell between the trees. She ran to the place, and then stopped short, with a cry of surprise.

One of the big trees had been partly chopped through, and standing beside it, with an uplifted axe in his hands, was a man made entirely of tin. His head and arms and legs were jointed upon his body, but he stood perfectly motionless, as if he could not stir at all.

Dorothy looked at him in amazement, and so did the Scarecrow, while Toto barked sharply and made a snap at the tin legs, which hurt his teeth.

"Did you groan?" asked Dorothy.

"Yes," answered the tin man; "I did. I've been groaning for more than a year, and no one has ever heard me before or come to help me."

"What can I do for you?" she enquired, softly, for she was moved by the sad voice in which the man spoke.

"Get an oil-can and oil my joints," he answered. "They are rusted so badly that I cannot move them at all; if I am well oiled I shall soon be all right again. You will find an oil-can on a shelf in my cottage."

Dorothy at once ran back to the cottage and found the oil-can, and then she returned and asked, anxiously,

"Where are your joints?"

"Oil my neck, first," replied the Tin Woodman. So she oiled it, and as it was quite badly rusted the Scarecrow took hold of the tin head and moved it gently from side to side until it worked freely, and then the man could turn it himself.

"Now oil the joints in my arms," he said. And Dorothy oiled them and the Scarecrow bent them carefully until they were quite free from rust and as good as new.

The Tin Woodman gave a sigh of satisfaction and lowered his axe, which he leaned against the tree.

"This is a great comfort," he said. "I have been holding that axe in the air ever since I rusted, and I'm glad to be able to put it down at last. Now, if you will oil the joints of my legs, I shall be all right once more."

So they oiled his legs until he could move them freely; and he thanked them again and again for his release, for he seemed a very polite creature, and very grateful.

"I might have stood there always if you had not come along," he said; "so you have certainly saved my life. How did you happen to be here?"

"We are on our way to the Emerald City, to see the great Oz," she answered, "and we stopped at your cottage to pass the night."

"Why do you wish to see Oz?" he asked.

"I want him to send me back to Kansas; and the Scarecrow wants him to put a few brains into his head," she replied.

The Tin Woodman appeared to think deeply for a moment. Then he said:

"Do you suppose Oz could give me a heart?"

"Why, I guess so," Dorothy answered; "it would be as easy as to give the Scarecrow brains."

"True," the Tin Woodman returned. "So, if you will allow me to join your party, I will also go to the Emerald City and ask Oz to help me."

"Come along," said the Scarecrow, heartily; and Dorothy added that she would be pleased to have his company. So the Tin Woodman shouldered his axe and they all passed through the forest until they came to the road that was paved with yellow brick.

The Tin Woodman had asked Dorothy to put the oil-can in her basket. "For," he said, "if I should get caught in the rain, and rust again, I would need the oil-can badly."

It was a bit of good luck to have their new comrade join the party, for soon after they had begun their journey again they came to a place where the trees and branches grew so thick over the road that the travellers could not pass. But the Tin Woodman set to work with his axe and chopped so well that soon he cleared a passage for the entire party.

Dorothy was thinking so earnestly as they walked along that she did not notice when the Scarecrow stumbled into a hole and rolled over to the side of the road.

Indeed, he was obliged to call to her to help him up again.

"Why didn't you walk around the hole?" asked the Tin Woodman.

"I don't know enough," replied the Scarecrow, cheerfully. "My head is stuffed with straw, you know, and that is why I am going to Oz to ask him for some brains."

"Oh, I see;" said the Tin Woodman. "But, after all, brains are not the best things in the world."

"Have you any?" enquired the Scarecrow.

"No, my head is quite empty," answered the Woodman; "but once I had brains, and a heart also; so, having tried them both, I should much rather have a heart."

"And why is that?" asked the Scarecrow.

"I will tell you my story, and then you will know."

So, while they were walking through the forest, the Tin Woodman told the following story:

"I was born the son of a woodman who chopped down trees in the forest and sold the wood for a living. When I grew up I too became a wood-chopper, and after my father died I took care of my old mother as long as she lived. Then I made up my mind that instead of living alone I would marry, so that I might not become lonely.

"There was one of the Munchkin girls who was so beautiful that I soon grew to love her with all my heart. She, on her part, promised to marry me as soon as I could earn enough money to build a better house for her; so I set to work harder than ever. But the girl lived with an old woman who did not want her to marry anyone, for she was so lazy she wished the girl to remain with her and do the cooking and the housework. So the old woman went to the wicked Witch of the East, and promised her two sheep and a cow if she would prevent the marriage. Thereupon the wicked Witch enchanted my axe, and when I was chopping away at my best one day, for I was anxious to get the new house and my wife as soon as possible, the axe slipped all at once and cut off my left leg.

"This at first seemed a great misfortune, for I knew a one-legged man could not do very well as a wood-chopper. So I went to a tin-smith and had him make me a new leg out of tin. The leg worked very well, once I was used to it; but my action angered the wicked Witch of the East, for she had promised the old woman I should not marry the pretty Munchkin girl. When I began chopping again my axe slipped and cut off my right leg. Again I went to the tinner, and again he made me a leg out of tin. After this the enchanted axe cut off my arms, one after the other; but, nothing daunted, I had them replaced with tin ones. The wicked Witch then made the axe slip and cut off my head, and at first I thought that was the end of me. But the tinner happened to come along, and he made me a new head out of tin.

"I thought I had beaten the wicked Witch then, and I worked harder than ever; but I little knew how cruel my enemy could be. She thought of a new way to kill my love for the beautiful Munchkin maiden, and made my axe slip again, so that it cut right through my body, splitting me into two halves. Once more the tinner came to my help and made me a body of tin, fastening my tin arms and legs and head to it, by means of joints, so that I could move around as well as ever. But, alas! I had now no heart, so that I lost all my love for the Munchkin girl, and did not care whether I married her or not. I suppose she is still living with the old woman, waiting for me to come after her.

"My body shone so brightly in the sun that I felt very proud of it and it did not matter now if my axe slipped, for it could not cut me. There was only one danger—that my joints would rust; but I kept an oil-can in my cottage and took care to oil myself whenever I needed it. However, there came a day when I forgot to do this, and, being caught in a rainstorm, before I thought of the danger my joints had rusted, and I was left to stand in the woods until you came to help me. It was a terrible thing to undergo, but during the year I stood there I had time to think that the greatest loss I had known was the loss of my heart. While I was in love I was the happiest man on earth; but no one can love who has not a heart, and so I am resolved to ask Oz to give me one. If he does, I will go back to the Munchkin maiden and marry her."

Both Dorothy and the Scarecrow had been greatly interested in the story of the Tin Woodman, and now they knew why he was so anxious to get a new heart.

"All the same," said the Scarecrow, "I shall ask for brains instead of a heart; for a fool would not know what to do with a heart if he had one."

"I shall take the heart," returned the Tin Woodman; "for brains do not make one happy, and happiness is the best thing in the world."

Dorothy did not say anything, for she was puzzled to know which of her two friends was right, and she decided if she could only get back to Kansas and Aunt Em it did not matter so much whether the Woodman had no brains and the Scarecrow no heart, or each got what he wanted.

What worried her most was that the bread was nearly gone, and another meal for herself and Toto would empty the basket. To be sure neither the Woodman nor the Scarecrow ever ate anything, but she was not made of tin nor straw, and could not live unless she was fed.