21

The Lion Becomes the King of Beasts





After climbing down from the china wall the travelers found

themselves in a disagreeable country, full of bogs and marshes and

covered with tall, rank grass. It was difficult to walk without

falling into muddy holes, for the grass was so thick that it hid

them from sight. However, by carefully picking their way, they

got safely along until they reached solid ground. But here the

country seemed wilder than ever, and after a long and tiresome

walk through the underbrush they entered another forest, where the

trees were bigger and older than any they had ever seen.



"This forest is perfectly delightful," declared the Lion, looking

around him with joy. "Never have I seen a more beautiful place."



"It seems gloomy," said the Scarecrow.



"Not a bit of it," answered the Lion. "I should like to live

here all my life. See how soft the dried leaves are under your

feet and how rich and green the moss is that clings to these old

trees. Surely no wild beast could wish a pleasanter home."



"Perhaps there are wild beasts in the forest now," said Dorothy.



"I suppose there are," returned the Lion, "but I do not see

any of them about."



They walked through the forest until it became too dark to go

any farther. Dorothy and Toto and the Lion lay down to sleep,

while the Woodman and the Scarecrow kept watch over them as usual.



When morning came, they started again. Before they had gone

far they heard a low rumble, as of the growling of many wild animals.

Toto whimpered a little, but none of the others was frightened,

and they kept along the well-trodden path until they came to

an opening in the wood, in which were gathered hundreds of

beasts of every variety. There were tigers and elephants and

bears and wolves and foxes and all the others in the natural

history, and for a moment Dorothy was afraid. But the Lion

explained that the animals were holding a meeting, and he judged

by their snarling and growling that they were in great trouble.



As he spoke several of the beasts caught sight of him, and at

once the great assemblage hushed as if by magic. The biggest of

the tigers came up to the Lion and bowed, saying:



"Welcome, O King of Beasts! You have come in good time to

fight our enemy and bring peace to all the animals of the forest

once more."



"What is your trouble?" asked the Lion quietly.



"We are all threatened," answered the tiger, "by a fierce

enemy which has lately come into this forest. It is a most

tremendous monster, like a great spider, with a body as big as an

elephant and legs as long as a tree trunk. It has eight of these

long legs, and as the monster crawls through the forest he seizes

an animal with a leg and drags it to his mouth, where he eats it

as a spider does a fly. Not one of us is safe while this fierce

creature is alive, and we had called a meeting to decide how to

take care of ourselves when you came among us."



The Lion thought for a moment.



"Are there any other lions in this forest?" he asked.



"No; there were some, but the monster has eaten them all. And,

besides, they were none of them nearly so large and brave as you."



"If I put an end to your enemy, will you bow down to me and

obey me as King of the Forest?" inquired the Lion.



"We will do that gladly," returned the tiger; and all the

other beasts roared with a mighty roar: "We will!"



"Where is this great spider of yours now?" asked the Lion.



"Yonder, among the oak trees," said the tiger, pointing with

his forefoot.



"Take good care of these friends of mine," said the Lion, "and

I will go at once to fight the monster."



He bade his comrades good-bye and marched proudly away to do

battle with the enemy.



The great spider was lying asleep when the Lion found him,

and it looked so ugly that its foe turned up his nose in disgust.

Its legs were quite as long as the tiger had said, and its body

covered with coarse black hair. It had a great mouth, with a row

of sharp teeth a foot long; but its head was joined to the pudgy

body by a neck as slender as a wasp's waist. This gave the Lion a

hint of the best way to attack the creature, and as he knew it was

easier to fight it asleep than awake, he gave a great spring and

landed directly upon the monster's back. Then, with one blow of

his heavy paw, all armed with sharp claws, he knocked the spider's

head from its body. Jumping down, he watched it until the long

legs stopped wiggling, when he knew it was quite dead.



The Lion went back to the opening where the beasts of the

forest were waiting for him and said proudly:



"You need fear your enemy no longer."



Then the beasts bowed down to the Lion as their King, and he

promised to come back and rule over them as soon as Dorothy was

safely on her way to Kansas.

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