The Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman waited for Dorothy to wake up. Suddenly, the Tin Woodman saw a big yellow Wildcat. It was chasing a small gray mouse. The Tin Woodman did not have a heart, but he knew this was wrong. He lifted his axe. When the Wildcat ran past, he chopped its head off. The Wildcat was dead.
The little gray mouse was safe. It came to the Tin Woodman. "Oh, thank you for saving my life!" it said in a tiny voice.
"You are welcome," said the Tin Woodman. "I like to help everyone, even if it is only a mouse."
"Only a mouse!" the little animal said. "I am the Queen of all the Field Mice!"
Just then, more mice ran up. They were very happy to see their Queen was safe. "You must all serve this tin man," the Queen told her people. "He saved my life."
"We will!" all the mice said together.
At that moment, Toto woke up. He saw all the mice and barked with excitement. He loved to chase mice. But the Tin Woodman picked Toto up. "Do not worry," he told the mice. "Toto will not hurt you."
The mice came back. One mouse asked, "Is there anything we can do to thank you for saving our Queen?"
The Scarecrow had an idea. "Yes!" he said. "You can help us save our friend, the Cowardly Lion. He is asleep in the field of poppies."
"A Lion?" cried the Queen. "He will eat us!"
"No, no," said the Scarecrow. "This Lion is a coward. He is our friend, so he will be your friend too."
"Okay, we will trust you," said the Queen. "What do we do?"
"Do you have many mice to help?" asked the Scarecrow.
"Oh yes, thousands!" the Queen said.
"Good," said the Scarecrow. "Tell them all to come here. Each mouse must bring a long piece of string." The Queen sent her mice to get everyone.
Then the Scarecrow said to the Tin Woodman, "Please go make a truck to carry the Lion." A truck (a simple cart with wheels) was needed to move the heavy Lion. The Tin Woodman went to the trees and started to work. He made a strong wooden truck with four wheels.
Soon, thousands of mice arrived. Each mouse had a piece of string. Dorothy woke up and was very surprised to see all the mice. The Scarecrow explained everything.
The Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman tied the strings to the mice. Then they tied the other end of the strings to the truck. They were ready to pull. The mice were small, but together they were very strong. They pulled the truck to the place where the Lion was sleeping.
It was very hard work to put the heavy Lion on the truck. Finally, he was on it. The Queen told the mice to start pulling. The Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman pushed from behind. Slowly, they moved the Lion out of the dangerous poppy field. They brought him to the fresh green grass.
Dorothy was very happy. She thanked the little mice for saving her friend. The mice left and went back to their homes. The Queen was the last to leave. "If you need our help again, just call for us in the fields," she said.
The friends sat next to the Lion and waited for him to wake up.