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"follow the yellow brick road, follow the yellow brick road.."
Dorothy chanted under her breath as she marched on with her eyes glued to the yellow underneath her feet, skipping a couple of times if only to keep her spirits up. Toto outpaced her for a brief moment and she quickly hastened her pace for a few more steps, that is, until she looked up to actually see where she was going. Once she does, Dorothy slows down to a halt, Toto coming to a stop with her, panting cluelessly.
Before her, the yellow brick road had split into two separate roads, both going off to different directions, as split roads do, to the left and to the right.
"Well now which way do we go?" The girl lamented, her grip tightening around the handle of her basket. Oh, if only there were some kind of sign, or if only the Munchkins have given her a map of some sort, something more substantial than the vague instruction of "follow the yellow brick road". Which way should she go? Should she just pick one and hope for the best? What if she chose the wrong way?
Dorothy was snapped rather rudely out of her thoughts by Toto's bark, which he did right before running off headfirst towards a cornfield right in front of them, a little further from the roads. "Oh, Toto, stop!" Dorothy cried out as she chased the little black dog. "Don't leave! Come back!"
Toto stopped under a dead tree sitting in front of the field, where he then started barking up a fuss, yapping and jumping at something; probably some poor small critter, though Dorothy did not get to see as she was much too focused on trying to scoop up the dog, having abandoned her basket on the ground nearby to make it easier. She hardly even noticed the crows around them, watching.
Finally, she manages to grab a hold of the dog. "You can't just go running like that Toto! What if we lost each other? I can't go home without you! Oh, please don't do that again.."
with a yip, Toto licks at her face as she pulls him closer, making her giggle, but it wasn't long until he wriggled free from the little girl's grasp once again, looking up and alert at the tree. Dorothy huffed, irritated. "What did you even go chasing for anyway?" She grumbled as she stood up, brushing dirt off her dress and apron.
"I can hardly imagine it's anything that interesting-" something faintly grazed the top of her head. Confused, she took a step back and looked slightly up to find-
Dorothy clapped a hand over her mouth as she fell backwards onto the dirt, interrupting her own scream that escaped at the sight of a pair of shoes—feet, legs—swaying slightly against the wind, hanging from the tree. Toto started to bark again.
*Please don't be a man*, she thought to herself with muted horror as she took a breath, steeling herself to look further up, and oh....
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
"A scarecrow.." she breathed, hand falling off her face as she felt herself relax. It's just a scarecrow, hanging from a branch, tied up by the neck. Oh, she feels quite silly now. Toto trots up to her, sniffing and pressing his wet nose against her arm. She lifted her hand up to pet him. "Of course it's just a scarecrow, what else would it be?" She laughed slightly, though her heart is still beating rather quickly. A crow flies up and perches itself onto a branch above the Scarecrow. Seeing one dead person was enough, she could hardly imagine seeing another, especially in such a morbid state. At least the last one only had her legs visible..
Dorothy drew her knees up close, observing the silver shoes adorning her feet, reflecting the sun quite prettily. She still feels all sorts of bad about that, even if she was supposed to be wicked..
Shaking herself out of it, Dorothy hopped up to her feet, once again brushing off dirt off of her dress. She looks up at the hanging scarecrow, observing the way his arms were spread and suspended next to him by a stick (possibly tied to the rope?), the way his farmer's hat sat slightly tilted on his head, and the way his mouth was stitched up into a smile. It's a strange sight, yet at the same time-
"He looks quite friendly, doesn't he?" Dorothy looked down at Toto. "And to think you were barking at him like that," she tutted, bending down to pick up her basket before turning around to face the yellow brick road once more, taking a few steps closer to it.
"Oh, i still don't know which way to go.."
"Pardon me, that way is a very nice way."
"Who said that!?" Dorothy turned around to find no one. There was no one on her left and right either. Toto barked up at the scarecrow, jumping a couple times trying to reach him. One of the Scarecrow's arms has dropped down, causing him to look as if hes pointing to the right. Dorothy looks down at her little dog.
"Oh don't be silly Toto, scarecrows don't talk."
"It's pleasant down that way too!"
Dorothy jumps once again, looking around to find the source of the voice, yet still finding none. Slowly, she looks back up at the scarecrow, who is now pointing to the left. Toto barks and yips at the straw man.
"That's funny... wasn't he pointing the other way?" Dorothy stares up in confusion. Could it really have been...?
She slowly makes movement as if she was fully turning around and away, when the voice returned once again; "of course people do go both ways-" "oh you did say something, didn't you!"
Dorothy strides up closer to the scarecrow, almost right under him, and in turn the scarecrow is now looking down at her, his hands pointing to both directions on opposite sides, that is his left hand is pointing to the right and his right to the left. The scarecrow shook his head, then nodded, causing himself to swing on the rope ever so slightly.
Dorothy tilted her head, confused. "Are you doing that on purpose, or can't you make up your mind?"
"Why, i haven't got a brain! Only straw," the scarecrow shrugged, hooking his arms around the stick behind his back once again. "So i haven't got a mind to make up, i believe."
Dorothy narrowed her eyes at him.
"Well how can you talk if you don't have a brain?"
The Scarecrow seemed caught off guard by the question, as if he hadn't considered it before. "Huh. I don't know.." he muttered, suddenly sounding very lost, much like she currently is. Dorothy suddenly felt a little bad for him. "But some people without brains do an awful lot of talking, don't they?"
Dorothy's lips twitched up into an amused smile. "Well, i suppose you're right." The scarecrow grinned down at her, pleased, and Dorothy accepts pretty quickly that this scarecrow seemed to have teeth. "Well, looks like i know a thing or two after all!" He said.
“You seemed startled earlier,” The scarecrow sounded apologetic. “I'm sorry if i scared you.”
“Oh, no, it's alright, wasn't you, really,” it's just that she thought he was a dead hanging man.. is that rude to say? “I’m sorry i almost screamed.”
"Don't worry, i didn't mind. It was a bit flattering actually.” The young girl let out a giggle at that as a crow swooped down, landing and pecking on one of the corn plants growing in the field.
"Oh, come on," The scarecrow grumbled.
"What's wrong?" Dorothy asked, watching the scarecrow swing, legs kicking slightly, irritated.
"The crows, they're eating the corn in the field," he complained. "And I can't scare them away. That's what scarecrows are meant to do, isn't it?" He asked. "That's what i remember, and that's.. what i am.." he sounds rather unsure of himself.
"Well that's what all the other scarecrows ive seen do," she answered. "Don't you know?"
"I don't know much of anything, if I'm being honest. like i said I'm quite brainless," the scarecrow said. "I don't even know how to get rid of these crows."
"Maybe you'd be able to scare them away better if you came down on the ground?" Can he even get down? Being hung up doesn't seem terribly comfortable, even if he didn't need to breathe.
"Down? Oh, i think that might be a bit tricky; you see, i have this rope around my neck with no means of cutting it."
Well that answers that.
"Well, is there any way.. i can help you?"
"Ah, i don't know, I'm not great about doing things, but maybe if you can climb up and cut me free?" He suggested hopefully, before seemingly realizing something. "But it *is* quite a tall tree—I wouldn't want you to fall."
Meanwhile, Dorothy is already starting to figure out how to make the first climb up. "It's alright, I've climbed lots of trees back home! And i do have a kitchen knife."
" A kitchen knife?" The scarecrow parroted, sounding amused, if a bit alarmed at the same time. "Why do you have that?"
"I thought it might be useful," Dorothy shrugged, taking the knife out of the basket before setting the latter down. "And i was right. I'll be up there in just a moment!"
Right as she's about to climb up the tree, she realizes that she would need both hands, and will have to carry the knife another way. To her, the solution was clear.
Biting down on the wooden handle of the knife, she started to climb up the tree with noticeable difficulty. It's not easy climbing a tree in heels, she discovered. The scarecrow looked on with a mixture of awe and worry. "Careful," he fretted. He seems quite worried for a man without a brain. Toto has started to pace down on the ground, whimpering worriedly under her.
After some struggle, she managed to climb up to the Scarecrow's branch and cut him loose, the straw man falling to the ground in a heap with bits of straw and hay scattering around him. Dorothy winced in sympathy as Toto barked, the girl still up in the tree while the scarecrow sat up on the ground, gathering his stuffings with his hands. "There goes some of me again," he laughed nervously.
"Does it hurt you?" Dorothy asked, shifting slightly on the branch she's perched on.
"Oh, no, I'll just keep picking it up and putting it back in again!" The scarecrow responded, speaking true to his words as he shoved as much fallen straw as he could back into his shirt. He looks up at her, and she thinks he looks worried again. "Can you get down?"
"I think so," Dorothy said, carefully starting to climb back down the same way she got up. These heels are really making things difficult, although, Dorothy noticed, even with all the walking and this climbing, that her feet weren't really tired at all. Dorothy hops back down onto the ground just as The Scarecrow started trying to stand up, struggling to do so.
She slips the knife back into her basket before going to give him a hand, which he took gratefully, and as she pulls him up she finds that he weighs nearly nothing at all.
The scarecrow sways on his feet, struggling to keep balance and flopping forward, then back, stumbling trying to stay upright. "Woah-!"
"Ah!" Dorothy catches the man before he could fall, keeping him upright until he finds his balance. "Are you alright?"
"Oh yes, never better!" The scarecrow chirped cheerily, taking a few steps back. "Oh it feels good to be free!"
In his joy, the scarecrow did a merry skip and a spin, only to tip and fall down to the ground once more. With an exclamation, Dorothy rushes to the straw man to see if hes okay, while the crows all around them laughed—and it was laughter, Dorothy realized, though as crow-like as it was, with caws and all. Toto barked and yipped at the birds, scaring half of them off and shutting up the rest.
"Did i scare you?" The scarecrow asked as Dorothy helped him sit up. "Oh, no, i just thought you hurt yourself-" "but I didn't scare you?" Dorothy blinked. "No, of course not. You're not very scary."
Unfortunately, this seemed to be the wrong thing to say, as the scarecrow slumped about it, though his stitched mouth was formed into a weak smile. "I didn't think so.. I can't even scare a crow. I was told I'm not a very good scarecrow, and it's clear it was true."
Dorothy frowned. That's not a very nice thing to say to someone, even if it was the truth. "Who told you that?"
"Mori," he said, "He's that crow right there, see?" The scarecrow pointed to a crow perched up high on the dead tree, watching them. "He's the one with the scar on his beak. He's nicer than the others." Scarecrow said. "relatively." The bird tilted it's- his? head at them.
While Dorothy was still distracted by the crow, the scarecrow managed to get back up on his own, a little more stable on his feet this time around. It seems difficult to move right when you're made of straw. "Enough about me though! I haven't thanked you for getting me down from there. I don't think i even caught your name!"
"Oh, I'm Dorothy, Dorothy Gale. and it really was no problem at all," she said, getting up to her feet herself. "I couldn't possibly have left you hanging there, knowing you couldn't get down."
"Oh, but you could!" The scarecrow exclaimed. "Most people would, but you didn't. It was very kind of you." Dorothy felt a surge of pride at that, smiling up at the straw man. The scarecrow smiled brightly at her, looking much like a sweet looking fabric doll, especially with his button eyes. She used to have one of those dolls. She named her Tippy, much to the confusion of her aunt and uncle. That's not exactly relevant though.
"I-" before the scarecrow could properly say his words, a crow landed harshly on his hat, causing him to lose his balance and topple forward before it flew away, cawing with laughter which was then echoed by the rest of the crows nearby. Once again, Toto started barking and growling, chasing the crows away, though they all simply retreated atop the dead tree, laughing still.
Those birds… How could they be so mean!? Dorothy turned to the laughing murder of crows. "stop it!" Dorothy yelled out angrily. "Leave him alone already!"
"It's alright Dot," the scarecrow sighed, pushing himself up. "Don't worry about them. I imagine if there was someone whose job is to keep me away from something, yet he had no brains for it, i would make fun of him too." He shrugged.
Dorothy looked over at the previously laughing murder of crows, most perched over the dead tree with only a few pecking at the corn cobs in the field. "Well it's not your fault you're bad at your job, this place is all sorts of odd and turned around," Dorothy huffed. "If the scarecrows back in Kansas could talk and walk, all the crows there would be scared to pieces! Right, Toto?" Toto yipped back at her, seemingly in agreement before going to scratch behind his ear.
"Oh, they would?" The scarecrow questioned, curious. He rose to his feet as Dorothy turned to him, body floppy before he managed to stabilize. "Where is this "Kansas?"
"Well... that's where i live," Dorothy hesitated. "and i wanna get back there so badly, I'm going to a wizard to ask him for help."
The scarecrow looked surprised at her admission, tilting his head to the side. "You're going to see a wizard?"
"Yes, The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz!" Dorothy nodded at him. "The munchkins told me he could bring me home. Thats why i was following the yellow brick road, thats the way to the city he lives in, its called—"
"—Emerald city?" The scarecrow finished for her, and Dorothy raised her eyebrows in surprise. "So you've heard of it?"
After a short pause, the straw man shrugged. "Nope! Lucky guess! Hey, do you think if i came with you, that he could give me some brains?"
Dorothy seemed to contemplate this for a moment. "Well.." she started. "if he could bring me home to Kansas, i don't see why not. But even if he can't, you'd be no worse off than you are now."
"That's true." The scarecrow nodded. "Though i would hope he could, then he'd really be wonderful." He said it quite wistfully, and Dorothy finds herself hoping the scarecrow will get those brains he wished for so badly.
"Would you take me with you? I'd really like a brain, but even if I couldn't get any, a young girl like you shouldn't be walking such long distances on your own." At this, Dorothy perked up, delighted at the suggestion.
"Why, that's awfully kind of you, Of course you can come! i could use the company." She smiled. "Thank you...."
...She never got his name, Dorothy realized. She leaves space for the straw man to answer the unsaid question himself, but he just stares at her blankly, making it all feel rather awkward. Does he not have a name? "....Scarecrow."
"It's no problem at all!" Scarecrow said, smiling back at her. She supposed that would be what she calls him then. "We should get going before it gets too dark."
Oh, right! "Just one second," she goes back near the tree to grab her basket—can't afford to forget her supplies!—before going back up to the Scarecrow, Toto following happily. "Okay, I'm ready."
The Scarecrow nodded at her, offering her his arm graciously, which she gladly takes, wrapping her own around his.
The Scarecrow quirked his head at her. "To Oz, then?"
"To Oz!”