The next morning, Dorothy woke up in the small cottage. The Scarecrow was waiting for her. "We need to find water," she said. "I need to wash my face and I need a drink." They walked and found a small spring with clean water. Dorothy washed, drank, and ate her breakfast. She saw that she did not have much bread left.
Suddenly, they heard a deep sound, like someone was in pain. "What was that?" Dorothy asked. They looked around. The sound came again from behind them. They walked into the forest and saw something shiny. It was a man made completely of tin. He was holding an axe, but he was not moving at all.
Toto barked at the tin legs. "Did you make that sound?" Dorothy asked.
"Yes," the man said in a sad voice. "I made that sound. I was here for more than a year. My joints are rusted (when metal gets wet and cannot move). I cannot move."
"What can I do for you?" Dorothy asked.
"Please get my oil-can," the tin man said. "It is in my cottage. You need to put oil on my joints." Dorothy ran back to the cottage and found the oil-can. She came back and asked, "Where are your joints?"
First, she put oil on his neck. The Scarecrow moved his head gently until it could turn. Then they put oil on his arms and legs. Soon, the Tin Woodman could move everything again. He put his axe down. "Thank you so much," he said. "You saved my life."
"We are going to the Emerald City to see the great Oz," Dorothy explained. "I want to go back to Kansas. The Scarecrow wants a brain."
The Tin Woodman was quiet for a moment. Then he asked, "Do you think Oz could give me a heart?"
"I think so," Dorothy said.
"Then I want to come with you," the Tin Woodman said. Dorothy and the Scarecrow were happy to have a new friend. The Tin Woodman picked up his axe and they all went back to the yellow brick road. He asked Dorothy to carry his oil-can. It was important if he got wet in the rain.
The Tin Woodman was a very helpful friend. In one part of the forest, thick branches blocked the road. But the Tin Woodman used his axe and cut a path for them. As they walked, the Scarecrow fell into a hole again. "Why didn't you walk around the hole?" the Tin Woodman asked.
"I don't have a brain," the Scarecrow said happily. "That is why I am going to Oz."
"I see," said the Tin Woodman. "But brains are not the best things in the world. A heart is better."
"Why?" asked the Scarecrow.
"I will tell you my story," the Tin Woodman said. "A long time ago, I was a real man. I was a wood-chopper. I loved a beautiful Munchkin girl. But the girl lived with a lazy old woman. The old woman did not want us to marry. So she went to the Wicked Witch of the East for help."
"The witch put magic on my axe," he continued. "One day, the axe cut off my leg. So I got a new leg made of tin. Then the axe cut off my other leg, and then my arms, and then my head. Every time, I got new parts made of tin. Finally, the axe cut my body in two. A tinsmith made me a new body of tin. But now, I did not have a heart. Without a heart, I could not love the Munchkin girl anymore."
"I was very proud of my new tin body. The axe could not hurt me now. Only rain was a problem because my joints could rust. One day, I was in a storm and I rusted. I could not move for a year, until you found me. In that year, I thought a lot. I learned that a heart is the most important thing. So I want to ask Oz to give me one."
Dorothy and the Scarecrow now understood why the Tin Woodman wanted a heart.
"I still want brains," said the Scarecrow. "A fool with a heart does not know what to do with it."
"And I will take the heart," said the Tin Woodman. "Brains do not make you happy. Happiness is the best thing."
Dorothy was quiet. She did not know who was right. She only wanted to go back to Kansas. She was also worried. She had only a little bread left in her basket.