L.Frank Baum. The marvelous land of Oz -
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Jack.
The wooden body, with its gorgeous clothing, still sat upright upon
the horse's back; but the pumpkin head was gone, and only the sharpened
stick that served for a neck was visible. As for the Scarecrow, the straw
in his body had shaken down with the jolting and packed itself into his
legs and the lower part of his body - which appeared very plump and round
while his upper half seemed like an empty sack. Upon his head the
Scarecrow still wore the heavy crown, which had been sewed on to prevent
his losing it; but the head was now so damp and limp that the weight of
the gold and jewels sagged forward and crushed the painted face into a
mass of wrinkles that made him look exactly like a Japanese pug dog.
Tip would have laughed - had he not been so anxious about his man
Jack. But the Scarecrow, however damaged, was all there, while the pumpkin
head that was so necessary to Jack's existence was missing; so the boy
seized a long pole that fortunately lay near at hand and anxiously turned
again toward the river.
Far out upon the waters he sighted the golden hue of the pumpkin,
which gently bobbed up and down with the motion of the waves. At that
moment it was quite out of Tip's reach, but after a time it floated nearer
and still nearer until the boy was able to reach it with his pole and draw
it to the shore. Then he brought it to the top of the bank, carefully
wiped the water from its pumpkin face with his handkerchief, and ran with
it to Jack and replaced the head upon the man's neck.
"Dear me!" were Jack's first words. "What a dreadful experience! I
wonder if water is liable to spoil pumpkins?"
Tip did not think a reply was necessary, for he knew that the
Scarecrow also stood in need of his help. So he carefully removed the