That night, they slept under a big tree in the forest. The Tin Woodman chopped a lot of wood, and Dorothy made a nice, warm fire. She and Toto ate the last of their bread. Dorothy was worried about breakfast. The Scarecrow was kind. He found a tree with nuts and filled Dorothy's basket. He was careful to stay away from the fire. He was afraid a spark could burn his straw.
In the morning, they started walking again to the Emerald City. After an hour, they came to a very big, deep ditch (a long, deep hole in the ground). It crossed the road. The sides were very steep. They could not climb down. For a moment, they thought their journey was over.
"What can we do?" Dorothy asked.
"I think I can jump over it," said the Cowardly Lion.
"That's great!" said the Scarecrow. "You can carry us on your back."
The Scarecrow went first. The Lion took a big jump. He flew through the air and landed safely on the other side. Everyone was very happy. The Lion jumped back. Next, Dorothy went with Toto in her arms. The Lion jumped again. It felt like flying! Then, the Lion went back a third time and carried the Tin Woodman across.
On the other side, the forest was very dark. They heard strange noises. The Lion quietly told them that dangerous animals lived there. He said they were called Kalidahs (big, scary animals with the body of a bear and the head of a tiger). "I am very afraid of the Kalidahs," the Lion said.
Suddenly, they came to another ditch. This one was even bigger. The Lion knew he could not jump across it. They did not know what to do.
But the Scarecrow had an idea. "There is a big tree next to the ditch," he said. "If the Tin Woodman cuts it down, it will fall across the ditch. Then we can walk on it like a bridge."
"That's a very smart idea!" said the Lion.
The Tin Woodman started to chop the tree with his sharp axe. Soon, the tree was ready to fall. The Lion pushed it with his strong legs. The tree fell with a loud crash and made a bridge across the ditch.
Just as they started to cross the tree bridge, two huge Kalidahs ran toward them. "Quick! Let's cross!" cried the Scarecrow.
Dorothy, the Tin Woodman, and the Scarecrow crossed the bridge. The Lion was very afraid, but he turned to face the Kalidahs. He gave a very loud and terrible roar. The scary animals stopped for a moment. But then they saw they were bigger than the Lion, so they started to cross the tree bridge.
"Wait!" called the Scarecrow. He had another good idea. "Chop the end of the tree!" he told the Tin Woodman.
The Tin Woodman started chopping the bridge with his axe. The Kalidahs were in the middle of the bridge when it broke. The tree and the two scary animals fell down into the deep ditch.
Everyone was safe. "I am happy to be alive," said the Cowar`dly Lion. His heart was still beating very fast.
They walked faster now because they wanted to leave the forest. Soon, the trees were not so thick. In the afternoon, they came to a wide river. On the other side, they saw the yellow brick road. The country was beautiful, with green fields and fruit trees.
"How do we cross the river?" Dorothy asked.
"The Tin Woodman must build a raft (a simple, flat boat made of wood)," said the Scarecrow. So the Tin Woodman began to chop down small trees. While he worked, Dorothy ate some delicious fruit from a tree. The work was slow, so they slept under the trees. Dorothy dreamed about the Emerald City and the Wizard of Oz.