The grounds around Nick Chopper's new house were laid out in prettyflower-beds, with fountains of crystal water and statues of tinrepresenting the Emperor's personal friends. Dorothy was astonishedand delighted to find a tin statue of herself standing on a tinpedestal at a bend in the avenue leading up to the entrance. It waslife-size and showed her in her sunbonnet with her basket on her arm,just as she had first appeared in the Land of Oz.

"Oh, Toto--you're there too!" she exclaimed; and sure enough therewas the tin figure of Toto lying at the tin Dorothy's feet.

Also, Dorothy saw figures of the Scarecrow, and the Wizard, and Ozma,and of many others, including Tik-tok. They reached the grand tinentrance to the tin castle, and the Tin Woodman himself came runningout of the door to embrace little Dorothy and give her a glad welcome.He welcomed her friends as well, and the Rainbow's Daughter hedeclared to be the loveliest vision his tin eyes had ever beheld. Hepatted Button-Bright's curly head tenderly, for he was fond ofchildren, and turned to the shaggy man and shook both his hands at thesame time.

Nick Chopper, the Emperor of the Winkies, who was also knownthroughout the Land of Oz as the Tin Woodman, was certainly aremarkable person. He was neatly made, all of tin, nicely soldered atthe joints, and his various limbs were cleverly hinged to his body sothat he could use them nearly as well as if they had been commonflesh. Once, he told the shaggy man, he had been made all of fleshand bones, as other people are, and then he chopped wood in theforests to earn his living. But the axe slipped so often and cut offparts of him--which he had replaced with tin--that finally there wasno flesh left, nothing but tin; so he became a real tin woodman. Thewonderful Wizard of Oz had given him an excellent heart to replace hisold one, and he didn't at all mind being tin. Every one loved him, heloved every one; and he was therefore as happy as the day was long.

The Emperor was proud of his new tin castle, and showed his visitorsthrough all the rooms. Every bit of the furniture was made ofbrightly polished tin--the tables, chairs, beds, and all--even thefloors and walls were of tin.

"I suppose," said he, "that there are no cleverer tinsmiths in all theworld than the Winkies. It would be hard to match this castle inKansas; wouldn't it, little Dorothy?"

"Very hard," replied the child, gravely.

"It must have cost a lot of money," remarked the shaggy man.

"Money! Money in Oz!" cried the Tin Woodman. "What a queer idea!Did you suppose we are so vulgar as to use money here?"

"Why not?" asked the shaggy man.

"If we used money to buy things with, instead of love and kindness andthe desire to please one another, then we should be no better than therest of the world," declared the Tin Woodman. "Fortunately money isnot known in the Land of Oz at all. We have no rich, and no poor; forwhat one wishes the others all try to give him, in order to make himhappy, and no one in all Oz cares to have more than he can use."

"Good!" cried the shaggy man, greatly pleased to hear this. "I alsodespise money--a man in Butterfield owes me fifteen cents, and I willnot take it from him. The Land of Oz is surely the most favored landin all the world, and its people the happiest. I should like to livehere always."

The Tin Woodman listened with respectful attention. Already he lovedthe shaggy man, although he did not yet know of the Love Magnet.So he said:

"If you can prove to the Princess Ozma that you are honest and trueand worthy of our friendship, you may indeed live here all your days,and be as happy as we are."

"I'll try to prove that," said the shaggy man, earnestly.

"And now," continued the Emperor, "you must all go to your rooms andprepare for dinner, which will presently be served in the grand tindining-hall. I am sorry, Shaggy Man, that I can not offer you achange of clothing; but I dress only in tin, myself, and I supposethat would not suit you."

"I care little about dress," said the shaggy man, indifferently.

"So I should imagine," replied the Emperor, with true politeness.

They were shown to their rooms and permitted to make such toilets asthey could, and soon they assembled again in the grand tin dining-hall,even Toto being present. For the Emperor was fond of Dorothy'slittle dog, and the girl explained to her friends that in Oz allanimals were treated with as much consideration as the people--"ifthey behave themselves," she added.

Toto behaved himself, and sat in a tin high-chair beside Dorothy andate his dinner from a tin platter.

Indeed, they all ate from tin dishes, but these were of pretty shapesand brightly polished; Dorothy thought they were just as good as silver.

Button-Bright looked curiously at the man who had "no appetite insidehim," for the Tin Woodman, although he had prepared so fine a feastfor his guests, ate not a mouthful himself, sitting patiently in hisplace to see that all built so they could eat were well andplentifully served.

What pleased Button-Bright most about the dinner was the tin orchestrathat played sweet music while the company ate. The players were nottin, being just ordinary Winkies; but the instruments they played uponwere all tin--tin trumpets, tin fiddles, tin drums and cymbals andflutes and horns and all. They played so nicely the "Shining EmperorWaltz," composed expressly in honor of the Tin Woodman by Mr. H. M.Wogglebug, T.E., that Polly could not resist dancing to it. After shehad tasted a few dewdrops, freshly gathered for her, she dancedgracefully to the music while the others finished their repast; andwhen she whirled until her fleecy draperies of rainbow hues envelopedher like a cloud, the Tin Woodman was so delighted that he clapped histin hands until the noise of them drowned the sound of the cymbals.

Altogether it was a merry meal, although Polychrome ate little and thehost nothing at all.

"I'm sorry the Rainbow's Daughter missed her mist-cakes," said the TinWoodman to Dorothy; "but by a mistake Miss Polly's mist-cakes were mislaidand not missed until now. I'll try to have some for her breakfast."

They spent the evening telling stories, and the next morning left thesplendid tin castle and set out upon the road to the Emerald City.The Tin Woodman went with them, of course, having by this time been sobrightly polished that he sparkled like silver. His axe, which healways carried with him, had a steel blade that was tin plated and ahandle covered with tin plate beautifully engraved and set with diamonds.

The Winkies assembled before the castle gates and cheered theirEmperor as he marched away, and it was easy to see that they allloved him dearly.