第8章 THE DEADLY POPPY FIELD 致命的罂粟地

Our little party of travelers awakened the next morning refreshed and full of hope, and Dorothy breakfasted like a princess off peaches and plums from the trees beside the river. Behind them was the dark forest they had passed safely through, although they had suffered many discouragements; but before them was a lovely, sunny country that seemed to beckon them on to the Emerald City.

To be sure, the broad river now cut them off from this beautiful land. But the raft was nearly done, and after the Tin Woodman had cut a few more logs and fastened them together with wooden pins, they were ready to start. Dorothy sat down in the middle of the raft and held Toto in her arms. When the Cowardly Lion stepped upon the raft it tipped badly, for he was big and heavy; but the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman stood upon the other end to steady it, and they had long poles in their hands to push the raft through the water.

They got along quite well at first, but when they reached the middle of the river the swift current swept the raft downstream, farther and farther away from the road of yellow brick. And the water grew so deep that the long poles would not touch the bottom.

“This is bad,”said the Tin Woodman, “for if we cannot get to the land we shall be carried into the country of the Wicked Witch of the West, and she will enchant us and make us her slaves.”

“And then I should get no brains,”said the Scarecrow.

“And I should get no courage,”said the Cowardly Lion.

“And I should get no heart,”said the Tin Woodman.

“And I should never get back to Kansas,”said Dorothy.

“We must certainly get to the Emerald City if we can,”the Scarecrow continued, and he pushed so hard on his long pole that it stuck fast in the mud at the bottom of the river. Then, before he could pull it out again—or let go—the raft was swept away, and the poor Scarecrow left clinging to the pole in the middle of the river.

“Good-bye!”he called after them, and they were very sorry to leave him. Indeed, the Tin Woodman began to cry, but fortunately remembered that he might rust, and so dried his tears on Dorothy's apron.

Of course this was a bad thing for the Scarecrow.

“I am now worse off than when I first met Dorothy,”he thought. “Then, I was stuck on a pole in a cornfield, where I could make-believe scare the crows, at any rate. But surely there is no use for a Scarecrow stuck on a pole in the middle of a river. I am afraid I shall never have any brains, after all!”

Down the stream the raft floated, and the poor Scarecrow was left far behind.

Then the Lion said: “Something must be done to save us. I think I can swim to the shore and pull the raft after me, if you will only hold fast to the tip of my tail.”

So he sprang into the water, and the Tin Woodman caught fast hold of his tail. Then the Lion began to swim with all his might toward the shore. It was hard work, although he was so big; but by and by they were drawn out of the current, and then Dorothy took the Tin Woodman's long pole and helped push the raft to the land.

They were all tired out when they reached the shore at last and stepped off upon the pretty green grass, and they also knew that the stream had carried them a long way past the road of yellow brick that led to the Emerald City.

“What shall we do now?”asked the Tin Woodman, as the Lion lay down on the grass to let the sun dry him.

“We must get back to the road, in some way,”said Dorothy.

“The best plan will be to walk along the riverbank until we come to the road again,”remarked the Lion.

So, when they were rested, Dorothy picked up her basket and they started along the grassy bank, to the road from which the river had carried them. It was a lovely country, with plenty of flowers and fruit trees and sunshine to cheer them, and had they not felt so sorry for the poor Scarecrow, they could have been very happy.

They walked along as fast as they could, Dorothy only stopping once to pick a beautiful flower; and after a time the Tin Woodman cried out: “Look!”

Then they all looked at the river and saw the Scarecrow perched upon his pole in the middle of the water, looking very lonely and sad.

“What can we do to save him?”asked Dorothy.

The Lion and the Woodman both shook their heads, for they did not know. So they sat down upon the bank and gazed wistfully at the Scarecrow until a Stork flew by, who, upon seeing them, stopped to rest at the water's edge.

“Who are you and where are you going?”asked the Stork.

“I am Dorothy,”answered the girl, “and these are my friends, the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion; and we are going to the Emerald City.”

“This isn't the road,”said the Stork, as she twisted her long neck and looked sharply at the queer party.

“I know it,”returned Dorothy, “but we have lost the Scarecrow, and are wondering how we shall get him again.”

“Where is he?”asked the Stork.

“Over there in the river,”answered the little girl.

“If he wasn't so big and heavy I would get him for you,”remarked the Stork.

“He isn't heavy a bit,”said Dorothy eagerly, “for he is stuffed with straw; and if you will bring him back to us, we shall thank you ever and ever so much.”

“Well, I'll try,”said the Stork, “but if I find he is too heavy to carry I shall have to drop him in the river again.”

So the big bird flew into the air and over the water till she came to where the Scarecrow was perched upon his pole. Then the Stork with her great claws grabbed the Scarecrow by the arm and carried him up into the air and back to the bank, where Dorothy and the Lion and the Tin Woodman and Toto were sitting.

When the Scarecrow found himself among his friends again, he was so happy that he hugged them all, even the Lion and Toto; and as they walked along he sang “Tol-de-ri-de-oh!”at every step, he felt so gay.

“I was afraid I should have to stay in the river forever,”he said, “but the kind Stork saved me, and if I ever get any brains I shall find the Stork again and do her some kindness in return.”

“That's all right,”said the Stork, who was flying along beside them. “I always like to help anyone in trouble. But I must go now, for my babies are waiting in the nest for me. I hope you will find the Emerald City and that Oz will help you.”

“Thank you,”replied Dorothy, and then the kind Stork flew into the air and was soon out of sight.

They walked along listening to the singing of the brightly colored birds and looking at the lovely flowers which now became so thick that the ground was carpeted with them. There were big yellow and white and blue and purple blossoms, besides great clusters of scarlet poppies, which were so brilliant in color they almost dazzled Dorothy's eyes.

“Aren't they beautiful?”the girl asked, as she breathed in the spicy scent of the bright flowers.

“I suppose so,”answered the Scarecrow. “When I have brains, I shall probably like them better.”

“If I only had a heart, I should love them,”added the Tin Woodman.

“I always did like flowers,”said the Lion. “They seem so helpless and frail. But there are none in the forest so bright as these.”

They now came upon more and more of the big scarlet poppies, and fewer and fewer of the other flowers; and soon they found themselves in the midst of a great meadow of poppies. Now it is well known that when there are many of these flowers together their odor is so powerful that anyone who breathes it falls asleep, and if the sleeper is not carried away from the scent of the flowers, he sleeps on and on forever. But Dorothy did not know this, nor could she get away from the bright red flowers that were everywhere about; so presently her eyes grew heavy and she felt she must sit down to rest and to sleep.

But the Tin Woodman would not let her do this.

“We must hurry and get back to the road of yellow brick before dark,”he said;and the Scarecrow agreed with him. So they kept walking until Dorothy could stand no longer. Her eyes closed in spite of herself and she forgot where she was and fell among the poppies, fast asleep.

“What shall we do?”asked the Tin Woodman.

“If we leave her here she will die,”said the Lion. “The smell of the flowers is killing us all. I myself can scarcely keep my eyes open, and the dog is asleep already.”

It was true; Toto had fallen down beside his little mistress. But the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman, not being made of flesh, were not troubled by the scent of the flowers.

“Run fast,”said the Scarecrow to the Lion, “and get out of this deadly flower bed as soon as you can. We will bring the little girl with us, but if you should fall asleep you are too big to be carried.”

So the Lion aroused himself and bounded forward as fast as he could go. In a moment he was out of sight.

“Let us make a chair with our hands and carry her,”said the Scarecrow. So they picked up Toto and put the dog in Dorothy's lap, and then they made a chair with their hands for the seat and their arms for the arms and carried the sleeping girl between them through the flowers.

On and on they walked, and it seemed that the great carpet of deadly flowers that surrounded them would never end. They followed the bend of the river, and at last came upon their friend the Lion, lying fast asleep among the poppies. The flowers had been too strong for the huge beast and he had given up at last, and fallen only a short distance from the end of the poppy bed, where the sweet grass spread in beautiful green fields before them.

“We can do nothing for him,”said the Tin Woodman, sadly. “for he is much too heavy to lift. We must leave him here to sleep on forever, and perhaps he will dream that he has found courage at last.”

“I'm sorry,”said the Scarecrow. “The Lion was a very good comrade for one so cowardly. But let us go on.”

They carried the sleeping girl to a pretty spot beside the river, far enough from the poppy field to prevent her breathing any more of the poison of the flowers, and here they laid her gently on the soft grass and waited for the fresh breeze to waken her.

第二天早晨，我们的这一小队旅行者醒来，精神抖擞，充满希望。多萝西像公主一样吃着从河边的树上摘下来的桃子和李子。留在他们后面的是那片黑暗的森林，虽然他们曾在那里遇到了好多挫折，但已经安全穿过了。在他们面前的是一片阳光明媚的可爱田野，它仿佛在召唤他们继续走向翡翠城。

虽然这条宽阔的河现在把他们和这个美丽的地方隔离开来，但木筏就要扎好了。铁皮樵夫又砍了几块圆木，用木钉把它们紧紧地扎在一起后，他们就可以动身了。多萝西坐在木筏当中，怀里抱着透透。当胆小狮踏上木筏时，木筏严重倾斜，因为狮子又大又重；不过，稻草人和铁皮樵夫站在另一端，让木筏保持稳定，而且他们手里都拿着长竿撑着木筏渡河。

起初，他们前进得非常顺利，但到达河中央时，急流把木筏向下游冲去，离黄砖路越来越远。而且水渐渐变深，长竿都触不到河底。

“这可坏了，”铁皮樵夫说，“如果不能靠岸，我们就要被带到西方坏女巫的国家，然后她会向我们施魔法，使我们成为她的奴隶。”

“那我就得不到脑子了。”稻草人说。

“那我就得不到胆量了。”胆小狮说。

“那我就得不到心了。”铁皮樵夫说。

“那我就再也回不到堪萨斯州了。”多萝西说。

“只要能靠岸，我们就肯定会到达翡翠城。”稻草人继续说着，用力撑着长竿，牢牢地插到了河底的淤泥里。随后，还没等他再次拔出或松开长竿，木筏就被急流冲走了；可怜的稻草人紧紧抱住长竿，被留在了河中央。

“再见！”他在他们后面喊道。他们非常难过地离开了他。真的，铁皮樵夫开始哭了起来，但幸亏想起了他可能会生锈，所以就在多萝西的围裙上擦干了眼泪。

当然，这对稻草人来说是一件糟糕事儿。

“我现在比当初遇见多萝西时更糟了，”他想。“当时，我被插在玉米田的秆子上，至少在那里我还可以伪装吓唬乌鸦。可一个稻草人被插在河中的一根长竿上肯定毫无用处。我恐怕再也不会有脑子了！”

木筏顺流而下，可怜的稻草人被远远地抛在了后面。

这时，狮子说：“我们必须想法救自己。我想我可以在前面拖着木筏游到岸边，只要你们拉紧我的尾巴就行了。”

于是，狮子纵身跳进水里，铁皮樵夫紧紧抓住它的尾巴。随后，它开始全力向岸边游去。尽管狮子力气很大，但这还是很费劲儿。不过，不久以后，他们还是被拖出了激流。这时，多萝西拿起铁皮樵夫的长竿，帮着把木筏推向岸边。

最后，他们到达岸边，踏上美丽的绿草地时，都筋疲力尽，而且还知道那股急流已经把他们冲得远离了通往翡翠城的黄砖路。

“现在我们怎么办？”铁皮樵夫问，这时狮子躺在草地上，让太阳晒干身子。

“我们必须想法回到那条路上去。”多萝西说。

“最好的办法就是沿着河岸走，直到我们重新回到那条路上。”狮子说。

因此，他们休息过后，多萝西提起篮子，他们沿着绿草如茵的河岸朝河水冲走他们的那条路走去。那是一片可爱的田野，繁花似锦，果树遍地，阳光明媚。要不是为稻草人感到难过，他们本来是可以非常开心的。

他们尽可能快地向前跑。多萝西只停了一次，去摘一朵美丽的鲜花。过了一会儿，铁皮樵夫大声喊道：“看！”

这时，他们都向河面上望去，只见稻草人插在河中的长竿上，看上去孤独悲伤极了。

“我们怎样才能救他呢？”多萝西问。

狮子和铁皮樵夫都摇摇头，因为他们不知道。所以他们就在岸上坐下来，若有所思地凝视着稻草人，直到有一只鹳鸟飞过。鹳鸟看到他们，便在水边停下来休息。

“你们是谁？你们要到哪里去？”鹳鸟问。

“我是多萝西，”小女孩回答说，“这些都是我的朋友，铁皮樵夫和胆小狮。我们准备到翡翠城去。”

“不是这条路。”鹳鸟一边说，一边扭过长脖子，目光敏锐地看着这个奇怪的群体。

“我知道，”多萝西回答说，“可我们失去了稻草人，正不知道怎样把他救回来呢。”

“他在哪里？”鹳鸟问。

“就在河那里。”小女孩回答说。

“如果他不是那样大、那样重，我就会为你们救他的。”鹳鸟说。

“他一点也不重，”多萝西急切地说，“因为他塞满了稻草；如果你把他带回我们身边，我们就会永永远远感谢你。”

“好，我试试看，”鹳鸟说，“但如果我发现他太重带不动，我就不得不重新把他扔进河里。”

于是，大鸟就飞到空中，飞到水面上空，直至飞到稻草人被困住的地方。随后，大鹳鸟用大爪子一把抓住稻草人的手臂，将他提升到空中，飞回到多萝西、狮子、铁皮樵夫和透透坐的岸边。

稻草人发现自己又回到朋友们中间时，高兴得紧紧拥抱他们，甚至拥抱了狮子和透透；之后，他们向前走，他每走一步都唱着歌儿，心里像乐开了花。

“我还害怕我会不得不永远留在河里呢，”稻草人说，“可是，善良的鹳鸟救了我；如果我得到了脑子，我会再次找到鹳鸟，做一些好事来报答它。”

“那就好。”鹳鸟说，因为它就在他们旁边飞着，“无论是谁遇到麻烦，我总是喜欢帮他。可是，现在我必须走了，因为我的宝宝们都在窝里等着我。我希望你们找到翡翠城，奥兹一定会帮助你们。”

“谢谢你，”多萝西回答说。于是，好心的鹳鸟飞到空中，很快就不见了。

他们一边向前走，一边听着色彩鲜艳的小鸟们歌唱，看着美丽的鲜花，现在它们开得非常茂盛，铺地毯似的遍地都是。除了一大丛鲜红色的罂粟花，那里还有黄的、白的、蓝的、紫的大花，颜色非常鲜艳，几乎让多萝西眼花缭乱。

“它们不是很美吗？”小女孩一边使劲闻着这些扑鼻的花香，一边问。

“我想是的，”稻草人回答说，“等我有了脑子，说不定我会更喜欢它们。”

“只要有了一颗心，我一定会喜爱它们。”铁皮樵夫补充说。

“我总是非常喜欢鲜花，”狮子说，“它们好像非常无助脆弱。可森林里的花没有一朵像这样鲜艳的。”

他们现在遇到的鲜红色的大罂粟花越来越多，其他的花越来越少。过了一会儿，他们发现自己走在了一大片罂粟地里。众所周知，当很多这种花聚拢在一起时，它们的香气就会非常浓烈，无论是什么人呼吸多了，都会倒头睡去。如果不把这个睡着的人从这些花香中带走，那么他就会永远睡下去。可是，多萝西不知道这个，也无法从这四周都是鲜红色的花丛中走开，所以她眼皮很快就发沉，感觉自己必须坐下来休息、睡觉。

可是，铁皮樵夫不让她这样做。

“我们必须天黑前赶回到黄砖路上。”他说。稻草人同意他的意见。于是，他们继续向前走，直到多萝西再也站不起来，她的眼睛不由自主地闭住，她忘记自己是在什么地方，就倒在罂粟花丛中睡熟了。

“我们怎么办？”铁皮樵夫问。

“如果我们把她留在这里，她一定会死，”狮子说。“这些花的香气也会把我们统统杀死。我自己几乎连眼睛都睁不开了，而且狗已经睡着了。”

这话没错，透透已经倒在它的小女主人身边。可是，因为稻草人和铁皮樵夫不是肉做的，所以没有受到这些花香的困扰。

“快跑，”稻草人对狮子说，“尽快跑出这个要命的花床。我们带着这个小女孩一块走，要是你倒下睡着了，你个头太大了，我们可抬不动哟。”

所以，狮子振作精神，尽可能快地向前跳跃。转眼间，它就不见了。

“让我们用手做椅子抬着她走，”稻草人说。于是，他们抱起透透，放在多萝西的膝间，然后用双手当座位、胳膊当靠背，抬着睡着的小女孩，穿过花丛。

他们一直向前走，这一大片地毯似的要命的罂粟花环绕在四周，无边无际。他们顺着河流转弯处前进，最后碰到了他们的狮子朋友，它正躺在罂粟花丛中熟睡。这些花的香气对这只巨兽来说也太强烈了，它终于认输，在离罂粟花床尽头只有一小段距离处倒了下去。碧绿的芳草就在距他们面前不远的美丽的田野中。

“我们对它无能为力，”铁皮樵夫伤心地说，“因为它实在太重，抬不起来。我们必须把它留在这里让它永远睡下去，说不定它会在梦里最后找到胆量。”

“对不起，”稻草人说，“狮子虽然胆小，但它是一个非常好的同伴。现在让我们继续向前走吧。”

他们抬着睡着的小女孩走到河边一个漂亮的地方，这里离罂粟地足够远，可以使她不再呼吸那些花的毒气。随后，他们轻轻地把她放在柔软的草地上，等着清新的微风吹醒她。