The Witch commanded me
never to come near Nimmie Amee again, but I told her I
was my own master and would do as I pleased, not
realizing that this was a careless way to speak to a
Witch.
"The next day, as I was cutting wood in the forest,
the cruel Witch enchanted my axe, so that it slipped
and cut off my right leg."
"How dreadful!" cried Woot the Wanderer.
"Yes, it was a seeming misfortune," agreed the Tin
Man, "for a one-legged woodchopper is of little use in
his trade. But I would not allow the Witch to conquer
me so easily. I knew a very skillful mechanic at the
other side of the forest, who was my friend, so I
hopped on one leg to him and asked him to help me. He
soon made me a new leg out of tin and fastened it
cleverly to my meat body. It had joints at the knee and
at the ankle and was almost as comfortable as the leg I
had lost."
"Your friend must have been a wonderful workman!"
exclaimed Woot.
"He was, indeed," admitted the Emperor. "He was a
tinsmith by trade and could make anything out of tin.
When I returned to Nimmie Amee, the girl was delighted
and threw her arms around my neck and kissed me,
declaring she was proud of me. The Witch saw the kiss
and was more angry than before. When I went to work in
the forest, next day, my axe, being still enchanted,
slipped and cut off my other leg. Again I hopped -- on
my tin leg -- to my friend the tinsmith, who kindly
made me another tin leg and fastened it to my body.
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