"
"Please lift us across," pleaded Polychrome.
"No," replied the beast; "since you refuse my
generous offer, I can be as stubborn as you are."
After that they were all silent for a time, but then
the Scarecrow said bravely:
"Friends, let us agree to the beast's terms. Give him
my straw, and carry the rest of me with you across the
ditch. Once on the other side, the Tin Soldier can cut
some of the hay with his sharp sword, and you can stuff
me with that material until we reach a place where
there is straw. It is true I have been stuffed with
straw all my life and it will be somewhat humiliating
to be filled with common hay, but I am willing to
sacrifice my pride in a good cause. Moreover, to
abandon our errand and so deprive the great Emperor of
the Winkies -- or this noble Soldier -- of his bride,
would be equally humiliating, if not more so."
"You're a very honest and clever man!" exclaimed the
Hip-po-gy-raf, admiringly. "When I have eaten your
head, perhaps I also will become clever."
"You're not to eat my head, you know," returned the
Scarecrow hastily. "My head isn't stuffed with straw
and I cannot part with it. When one loses his head he
loses his brains."
"Very well, then; you may keep your head," said the
beast.
The Scarecrow's companions thanked him warmly for his
loyal sacrifice to their mutual good, and then he laid
down and permitted them to pull the straw from his
body.
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