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"If Nick Chopper were here, he would build a raft in no time," murmured the

Scarecrow, "but as he is not, I must think of another way!"

Turning his back on the river, which distracted his mind, he began to think

with all his might. Before he could collect his thoughts, there was a

tremendous crash, and next minute he was lying face down in the mud.

Several little crashes followed, and a shower of water. Then a wet voice

called out with a cheerful chuckle:

"Come on out, my dear Rattles. Not a bad place at all, and here's breakfast

already waiting!"

"Breakfast!" The Scarecrow turned over cautiously. A huge and curious

creature was slashing through the grass toward him. A smaller and still

more curious one followed. Both were extremely damp and had evidently

just come out of the river.

Good morning!" quavered the Scarecrow, sitting up with a jerk and at the

same time reaching for a stick that lay just behind him.

"I won't eat it if it talks--so there!" The smaller creature stopped and stared

fixedly at the Scarecrow.

The Scarecrow, hearing this, tried to think of something else to say, but the

appearance of the two was so amazing that, as he told Dorothy afterwards,

he was struck dumb. The larger was at least two hundred feet long and

made entirely of blocks of wood. On each block was a letter of the alphabet.

The head was a huge square block with a serpent's face and long, curling,

tape-measure tongue. The little one was very much smaller and seemed to

consist of hundreds of rattles, wood, celluloid, and rubber, fastened together

with wires. Every time it moved, the rattles tinkled. Its face, however, was

not unpleasant, so the Scarecrow took heart and made a deep bow.

"And I'm not going to eat anything that squirms." This time it was the big

serpent who spoke.

"Thank you!" said the Scarecrow, bowing several times more. "You relieve my

mind. I've never been a breakfast yet, and I'd rather not begin. But if I

cannot be your breakfast, let me be your friend!" He extended his arms

impulsively.

There was something so jolly about the Scarecrow's smile that the two

creatures became friendly at once, and moreover told him the story of their

lives.

The Royal Book of Oz