The next morning, the friends felt refreshed and ready. Dorothy ate sweet peaches and plums for breakfast. The dark forest was behind them. A beautiful, sunny country was in front of them. The only problem was the wide river. But their raft (a simple, flat boat made of wood) was ready.
Dorothy and Toto sat in the middle of the raft. The Cowardly Lion was very heavy, so the raft tipped when he got on. The Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman stood on the other side to keep it steady. They used long poles to push the raft through the water.
At first, everything was fine. But in the middle of the river, the water was very fast. It pushed their raft far away from the yellow brick road. The water was too deep for their poles.
"This is bad," said the Tin Woodman. "The water is taking us to the country of the Wicked Witch of the West. She will make us her slaves!"
They were all very worried. The Scarecrow pushed his pole very hard. It got stuck in the mud at the bottom of the river! The raft moved on, but the Scarecrow was left behind. He was holding onto the pole in the middle of the river. "Goodbye!" he called. They were all very sad to leave him.
The raft floated down the river. "I must do something," said the Lion. "I will swim to the land and pull the raft. Hold onto my tail." The Lion jumped into the water. The Tin Woodman held his tail. The Lion swam with all his energy. It was hard work, but he pulled them to the shore.
They were all very tired. They were also far away from the yellow brick road. "What do we do now?" asked Dorothy. They decided to walk by the river until they found the road again. They were sad because they lost the Scarecrow.
After a long walk, they saw the Scarecrow! He was still on his pole in the middle of the river. He looked very lonely. A big bird, a Stork (a large white bird with long legs), landed near them.
"Can you help us?" Dorothy asked the Stork. "Our friend is on that pole. He is not heavy. He is full of straw."
"I will try," the Stork said. The big bird flew to the Scarecrow. She picked him up with her big claws and carried him back to his friends. The Scarecrow was so happy! He hugged everyone. He was so happy that he started to sing.
The friends continued their journey. The country was beautiful. Soon, they walked into a big field of bright red flowers. They were scarlet poppies (a type of red flower). Dorothy did not know that the smell of many poppies can make you fall asleep forever.
Soon, Dorothy's eyes felt very heavy. She wanted to sleep. "We must keep walking," said the Tin Woodman. But Dorothy could not. She fell down in the flowers and went fast asleep. Toto was also asleep next to her.
The smell did not hurt the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman. They were not made of flesh and blood. "Run!" the Scarecrow told the Lion. "Get out of this flower field! We will carry Dorothy. But you are too big for us to carry." So the Lion ran as fast as he could.
The Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman made a chair with their hands. They carried the sleeping Dorothy and Toto. They walked and walked through the red flowers. Finally, they saw the end of the field. But their friend, the Lion, was lying on the ground. He was fast asleep among the poppies.
"We cannot help him," the Tin Woodman said sadly. "He is too heavy for us to lift. We must leave him here."
They were very sad to leave the Lion. They carried Dorothy to a safe place on the soft green grass. They put her down gently. They waited for the clean air to wake her up.