After the china country, the friends came to a wet and muddy place. It was full of tall grass. It was difficult to walk, but they were careful. After the muddy place, the country was wild. They walked and walked. Finally, they came to another forest. The trees here were bigger and older than any they had seen before.
"This forest is wonderful!" said the Lion happily. "I have never seen a more beautiful place. I want to live here forever."
"It looks a little dark and scary to me," said the Scarecrow.
"Maybe there are wild animals here," said Dorothy.
"I hope so," said the Lion.
They walked until it was dark. Then Dorothy, Toto, and the Lion went to sleep. The Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman watched over them.
In the morning, they started walking again. Soon, they heard the sound of many growling animals. They found an open place in the forest. Hundreds of animals were there. There were tigers, elephants, bears, and many others. At first, Dorothy was afraid.
"They are having a meeting," the Lion explained. "They seem to be in big trouble."
The animals saw the Lion. They all became quiet. A very big tiger walked to the Lion and bowed. "Welcome, O King of Beasts," the tiger said. "Please help us. You must fight our enemy."
"What is your trouble?" the Lion asked.
"There is a monster in this forest," the tiger answered. "It is a giant spider (an animal with eight legs). Its body is as big as an elephant. Its legs are as long as tree trunks. It eats any animal it can catch. We are all afraid."
The Lion thought for a moment. "If I kill this enemy, will you all obey me as King of the Forest?" he asked.
"Yes, we will!" all the other animals roared together.
"Where is this monster?" the Lion asked.
"Over there, near the oak trees," the tiger said.
"Take care of my friends," the Lion said to the animals. "I will go now and fight the monster." He said goodbye to Dorothy and his friends and walked away proudly.
The giant spider was asleep when the Lion found it. It was very ugly. Its body was big, but its neck was very thin. This gave the Lion an idea. It was better to fight the monster when it was asleep. The Lion jumped on the monster's back. With one big hit from his strong paw, he cut the spider's head off its body. The monster was dead.
The Lion went back to the other animals. "You do not need to be afraid anymore," he said proudly.
All the animals bowed down to the Lion. They accepted him as their new King. The Lion promised to come back and be their king after he helped Dorothy get back to Kansas.