"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."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
L. Frank Baum, The Wizard of Oz (1900)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Insect_suffering
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
L. Frank Baum
Lyman Frank Baum (15 May 1856 – 6 May 1919) was an American author, actor, and independent filmmaker best known as the creator, along with illustrator William Wallace Denslow, of one of the most popular books in American children's literature, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
88 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by L. Frank Baum →
Related Quotes
"Now we can cross the Shifting Sands."
"When I was young I longed to write a great novel that should win me fame. Now that I am getting old my first book is …"
"The scenery and costumes of 'The Wizard of Oz' were all made in New York — Mr. Mitchell was a New York favorite, but …"
"It is a callous age; we have seen so many marvels that we are ashamed to marvel more; the seven wonders of the world …"
"The Tin Woodman knew very well he had no heart, and therefore he took great care never to be cruel or unkind to anyth…"
""Congratulate me. I am going to Oz to get my brains at last. When I return I shall be as other men are." "I have alwa…"
"Some of my youthful readers are developing wonderful imaginations. This pleases me. Imagination has brought mankind t…"
"As the years pass, and we look back on something which, at the time, seemed unbelievably discouraging and unfair, we …"
"The absurd and legendary devil is the enigma of the Church."
"When I was a boy I was tremendously interested in scarecrows. They always seemed to my childish imagination as just a…"