第6章 THE COWARDLY LION 胆小狮

All this time Dorothy and her companions had been walking through the thick woods. The road was still paved with yellow brick, but these were much covered by dried branches and dead leaves from the trees, and the walking was not at all good.

There were few birds in this part of the forest, for birds love the open country where there is plenty of sunshine. But now and then there came a deep growl from some wild animal hidden among the trees. These sounds made the little girl's heart beat fast, for she did not know what made them; but Toto knew, and he walked close to Dorothy's side, and did not even bark in return.

“How long will it be,”the child asked of the Tin Woodman, “before we are out of the forest?”

“I cannot tell,”was the answer, “for I have never been to the Emerald City. But my father went there once, when I was a boy, and he said it was a long journey through a dangerous country, although nearer to the city where Oz dwells the country is beautiful. But I am not afraid so long as I have my oil-can, and nothing can hurt the Scarecrow, while you bear upon your forehead the mark of the Good Witch's kiss, and that will protect you from harm.”

“But Toto!”said the girl anxiously. “What will protect him?”

“We must protect him ourselves if he is in danger,”replied the Tin Woodman.

Just as he spoke there came from the forest a terrible roar, and the next moment a great Lion bounded into the road. With one blow of his paw he sent the Scarecrow spinning over and over to the edge of the road, and then he struck at the Tin Woodman with his sharp claws. But, to the Lion's surprise, he could make no impression on the tin, although the Woodman fell over in the road and lay still.

Little Toto, now that he had an enemy to face, ran barking toward the Lion, and the great beast had opened his mouth to bite the dog, when Dorothy, fearing Toto would be killed, and heedless of danger, rushed forward and slapped the Lion upon his nose as hard as she could, while she cried out: “Don't you dare to bite Toto! You ought to be ashamed of yourself, a big beast like you, to bite a poor little dog!”

“I didn't bite him,”said the Lion, as he rubbed his nose with his paw where Dorothy had hit it.

“No, but you tried to,”she retorted. “You are nothing but a big coward.”

“I know it,”said the Lion, hanging his head in shame. “I've always known it. But how can I help it?”

“I don't know, I'm sure. To think of your striking a stuffed man, like the poor Scarecrow!”

“Is he stuffed?”asked the Lion in surprise, as he watched her pick up the Scarecrow and set him upon his feet, while she patted him into shape again.

“Of course he's stuffed,”replied Dorothy, who was still angry.

“That's why he went over so easily,”remarked the Lion. “It astonished me to see him whirl around so. Is the other one stuffed, also?”

“No,”said Dorothy, “he's made of tin.”And she helped the Woodman up again.

“That's why he nearly blunted my claws,”said the Lion. “When they scratched against the tin it made a cold shiver run down my back. What is that little animal you are so tender of?”

“He is my dog, Toto,”answered Dorothy.

“Is he made of tin, or stuffed?”asked the Lion.

“Neither. He's a—a—a meat dog,”said the girl.

“Oh! He's a curious animal and seems remarkably small, now that I look at him. No one would think of biting such a little thing, except a coward like me,”continued the Lion sadly.

“What makes you a coward?”asked Dorothy, looking at the great beast in wonder, for he was as big as a small horse.

“It's a mystery,”replied the Lion. “I suppose I was born that way. All the other animals in the forest naturally expect me to be brave, for the Lion is everywhere thought to be the King of Beasts. I learned that if I roared very loudly every living thing was frightened and got out of my way. Whenever I've met a man I've been awfully scared; but I just roared at him, and he has always run away as fast as he could go. If the elephants and the tigers and the bears had ever tried to fight me, I should have run myself—I'm such a coward; but just as soon as they hear me roar they all try to get away from me, and of course I let them go.”

“But that isn't right. The King of Beasts shouldn't be a coward,”said the Scarecrow.

“I know it,”returned the Lion, wiping a tear from his eye with the tip of his tail. “It is my great sorrow, and makes my life very unhappy. But whenever there is danger, my heart begins to beat fast.”

“Perhaps you have heart disease,”said the Tin Woodman.

“It may be,”said the Lion.

“If you have,”continued the Tin Woodman, “you ought to be glad, for it proves you have a heart. For my part, I have no heart; so I cannot have heart disease.”

“Perhaps,”said the Lion thoughtfully, “if I had no heart I should not be a coward.”

“Have you brains?”asked the Scarecrow.

“I suppose so. I've never looked to see,”replied the Lion.

“I am going to the Great Oz to ask him to give me some,”remarked the Scarecrow,“for my head is stuffed with straw.”

“And I am going to ask him to give me a heart,”said the Woodman.

“And I am going to ask him to send Toto and me back to Kansas,”added Dorothy.

“Do you think Oz could give me courage?”asked the Cowardly Lion.

“Just as easily as he could give me brains,”said the Scarecrow.

“Or give me a heart,”said the Tin Woodman.

“Or send me back to Kansas,”said Dorothy.

“Then, if you don't mind, I'll go with you,”said the Lion, “for my life is simply unbearable without a bit of courage.”

“You will be very welcome,”answered Dorothy, “for you will help to keep away the other wild beasts. It seems to me they must be more cowardly than you are if they allow you to scare them so easily.”

“They really are,”said the Lion, “but that doesn't make me any braver, and as long as I know myself to be a coward I shall be unhappy.”

So once more the little company set off upon the journey, the Lion walking with stately strides at Dorothy's side. Toto did not approve this new comrade at first, for he could not forget how nearly he had been crushed between the Lion's great jaws. But after a time he became more at ease, and presently Toto and the Cowardly Lion had grown to be good friends.

During the rest of that day there was no other adventure to mar the peace of their journey.

Once, indeed, the Tin Woodman stepped upon a beetle that was crawling along the road, and killed the poor little thing. This made the Tin Woodman very unhappy, for he was always careful not to hurt any living creature; and as he walked along he wept several tears of sorrow and regret. These tears ran slowly down his face and over the hinges of his jaw, and there they rusted. When Dorothy presently asked him a question the Tin Woodman could not open his mouth, for his jaws were tightly rusted together. He became greatly frightened at this and made many motions to Dorothy to relieve him, but she could not understand. The Lion was also puzzled to know what was wrong. But the Scarecrow seized the oil-can from Dorothy's basket and oiled the Woodman's jaws, so that after a few moments he could talk as well as before.

“This will serve me a lesson,”said he, “to look where I step. For if I should kill another bug or beetle I should surely cry again, and crying rusts my jaws so that I cannot speak.”

Thereafter he walked very carefully, with his eyes on the road, and when he saw a tiny ant toiling by he would step over it, so as not to harm it. The Tin Woodman knew very well he had no heart, and therefore he took great care never to be cruel or unkind to anything.

“You people with hearts,”he said, “have something to guide you, and need never do wrong; but I have no heart, and so I must be very careful. When Oz gives me a heart of course I needn't mind so much.”

在这段时间里，多萝西和她的同伴们一直在密林里走着。虽然这条路仍是黄砖铺的，但树林里落了好多枯枝败叶，所以路一点儿也不好走。

在这一带的森林中，小鸟不多，因为它们喜欢阳光充足的开阔地带。可是，树林里不时传来隐藏着的某个野兽的低沉吼叫。这些声音使小女孩心跳加快，因为她不知道是什么东西发出的声音；可是，透透知道，它紧贴着多萝西的身边走，甚至没有回应着吠叫几声。

小女孩问铁皮樵夫：“我们多长时间才会走出这森林？”

“我说不清，”他回答说，“因为我从来没有去过翡翠城。可我的父亲去过那里一次，那时我还是小孩子。他说那是一个漫长的旅程，要经过一个危险地区，尽管离奥兹居住的城市较近的地区非常美丽。不过，只要我有了油壶，就不害怕；而且什么也无法伤害稻草人，再说你的额头上带着好女巫吻过的标记，那会使你免受伤害。”

“可是，透透呢！”小女孩不安地说，“什么来保护它？”

“如果它遇到危险，我们必须亲自保护它。”铁皮樵夫回答说。

他正说话时，从森林中传来一声可怕的吼叫。紧接着，一头大狮子跳到了路上，一爪子把稻草人打得滴溜溜转，翻倒在路边，随后又用利爪向铁皮樵夫击去。可是，让狮子吃惊的是，它无法在铁皮人身上留下任何抓痕，尽管铁皮樵夫也翻倒在路上，躺在那里一动不动。

小透透现在遇到了敌人，吠叫着奔向狮子。大狮子张开嘴去咬小狗。这时，多萝西害怕透透被咬死，就不顾危险，冲上前用力扇狮子的鼻子，同时大声喊道：“你竟敢咬透透！你应该为自己感到惭愧，像你这样大的一头野兽，却要去咬一只可怜的小狗！”

“我没有咬它，”狮子用爪子擦着自己的鼻子说，因为多萝西打中了它的鼻子。

“不，你刚才想，”她反驳说，“你只是一个大个头的胆小鬼。”

“我知道，”狮子羞愧地耷拉着脑袋说，“我一向知道。可我怎么才能补救呢？”

“我不知道，我肯定。想想吧，你竟去打可怜的用稻草填充的稻草人！”

“他是填充的？”狮子一边吃惊地问，一边望着她扶起稻草人让他站稳，同时拍拍他，使他又恢复了原样。

“他当然是填充的。”多萝西回答说，仍然感到生气。

“这就是他这样容易翻倒的原因，”狮子说，“刚才看他那样旋转让我惊讶。另一个也是填充的吗？”

“不，”多萝西说，“他是铁皮做的。”说着，她又扶起铁皮樵夫。

“这就是他差点儿把我的爪子弄钝的原因，”狮子说，“我的爪子抓在铁皮上时，我的后背不由打了个冷战。那是一只什么小动物，值得你这样照顾？”

“它是我的狗，透透。”多萝西回答说。

“它是铁皮做的，还是填充的？”狮子问。

“两个都不是。它是一、一、一只肉狗。”女孩说。

“噢！它是一只好奇的动物，现在我看着它，它好像非常小。除了像我这样的胆小鬼，没有人想去咬这样一个小东西。”狮子继续伤心地说。

“什么东西使你变成了胆小鬼？”多萝西问，她惊奇地看着这头大野兽，因为它大得像一匹小马。

“这是一个谜，”狮子回答说，“我想我生来就是这样的。树林中的所有其他野兽自然都以为我勇敢，因为狮子无论在什么地方都被称为百兽之王。我知道，如果我吼声很响，每一种生物都会胆战心惊，给我让路。无论什么时候，当我遇到一个人，我都吓得要死，但我还是对他吼叫，所以他总是尽快逃走。如果大象、老虎和熊想跟我打架，我就会跑——我就是这样一个胆小鬼；可是，它们一听到我吼叫，便都逃离我，我当然也会放它们走。”

“可那是不对的。百兽之王不该是胆小鬼。”稻草人说。

“我知道，”狮子回答说，同时用尾巴尖从眼里擦去一滴眼泪，“这是我最大的悲哀，而且使我的生活过得很不愉快。可一有危险，我的心就开始跳得很快。”

“也许你有心脏病吧。”铁皮樵夫说。

“也许是吧。”狮子说。

“如果有，”铁皮樵夫接着说道，“你应该高兴，因为那证明你有一颗心。对我来说，我没有心，所以不会有心脏病。”

“也许是，”狮子想了想说，“如果我没有心，就不会是胆小鬼了。”

“你有脑子吗？”稻草人问。

“我想有。我压根没有指望有过。”狮子回答说。

“我要到伟大的奥兹那里去请他给我一些脑子，”稻草人说，“因为我的脑袋里塞满了稻草。”

“我打算去请他给我一颗心。”铁皮樵夫说。

“我将请求他把我和透透送回堪萨斯州。”多萝西补充说。

“你们认为奥兹能给我胆量吗？”胆小狮问道。

“就像他给我脑子一样容易。”稻草人说。

“或者像给我一颗心一样容易。”铁皮樵夫说。

“或者像把我送回堪萨斯州一样容易。”多萝西说。

“那么，如果你们不介意，我就和你们一块去。”狮子说，“因为没有一点儿胆量，我的生活简直难以忍受。”

“非常欢迎你。”多萝西回答说，“因为你会帮助我们吓走其他野兽。在我看来，如果它们被你这样轻易吓走，它们肯定比你更胆小。”

“它们确实胆小，”狮子说，“可那并不能使我更勇敢。只要我知道自己是个胆小鬼，我就会不开心。”

于是，这一小队伙伴又动身上路了，狮子威风凛凛地走在多萝西身边。透透起初不满意这个新伙伴，因为它无法忘记自己差点儿在狮子的大牙之间被咬得粉碎。可是，过了一会儿，透透渐渐地放松，没多久便和胆小狮成了好朋友。

那天剩下的时间里，再没有其他危险来破坏他们旅途的和平。

其实，有一次，铁皮樵夫踩在了正在沿路爬行的一只甲虫身上，并踩死了可怜的小东西。这就使铁皮樵夫很不高兴，因为他总是小心翼翼不去伤害任何生物；他一边向前走，一边流下了好几滴伤心和悔恨的眼泪。这些眼泪慢慢地从他的脸上流下来，流过他的颌关节，于是那里的关节就生锈了。过了一会儿，当多萝西问铁皮樵夫一个问题时，他张不开嘴了，因为他的下巴紧紧地锈在了一起。他对此大惊失色，朝多萝西做了好多救他的动作，但她无法明白。狮子也不知道出了什么毛病。幸亏，稻草人从多萝西的篮子里一把拿起油壶，在铁皮樵夫的下巴上加了几滴油，没多大一会儿，铁皮樵夫就能像以前一样说话了。

“这给我了一个教训，”铁皮樵夫说，“走路要注意脚下。因为如果我踩死另一只小虫或甲虫，我肯定又会哭，我一哭又会让下巴生锈，这样我就说不成话了。”

从那以后，他眼睛盯着路面，小心翼翼地走着，他看见一只小蚂蚁正在辛苦地爬过，便跨了过去，以免伤害蚂蚁。铁皮樵夫非常清楚自己没有心，所以就小心翼翼，绝不对任何东西残忍无情。

“你们这些有心人，”他说，“有东西指导你们，绝不会做错事；可是，我没有心，所以我必须小心谨慎。等奥兹给了我一颗心时，我肯定不必那样多加小心了。”