A shriek of elfish laughter greeted this speech and looking up the Scarecrow found the trees full of black crows, who seemed much amused by the straw man's one-eyed countenance. He knew the crows well, however, and they had usually been friendly to him because he had never deceived them into thinking he was a meat man--the sort of man they really feared. "Don't laugh," said he; "you may lose an eye yourselves some day." [Illustration] "We couldn't look as funny as you, if we did," replied one old crow, the king of them. "But what has gone wrong with you?" "The Tin Woodman, my dear friend and companion, has fallen overboard and is now on the bottom of the river," said the Scarecrow. "I'm trying to get him out again, but I fear I shall not succeed." "Why, it's easy enough," declared the old crow. "Tie a string to him and all of my crows will fly down, take hold of the string, and pull him up out of the water. There are hundreds of us here, so our united strength could lift much more than that." "But I can't tie a string to him," replied the Scarecrow. "My straw is so light that I am unable to dive through the water. I've tried it, and knocked one eye out." "Can't you fish for him?" "Ah, that is a good idea," said the Scarecrow. "I'll make the attempt." He found a fishline in the boat, with a stout hook at the end of it. No bait was needed, so the Scarecrow dropped the hook into the water till it touched the Woodman. "Hook it into a joint," advised the crow, who was now perched upon a branch that stuck far out and bent down over the water. The Scarecrow tried to do this, but having only one eye he could not see the joints very clearly. "Hurry up, please," begged the Tin Woodman; "you've no idea how damp it is down here." [Illustration] [Illustration] "Can't you help?" asked the crow. "How?" inquired the tin man. "Catch the line and hook it around your neck." The Tin Woodman made the attempt and after several trials wound the line around his neck and hooked it securely. "Good!" cried the King Crow, a mischievous old fellow. "Now, then, we'll all grab the line and pull you out." At once the air was filled with black crows, each of whom seized the cord with beak or talons. The Scarecrow watched them with much interest and forgot that he had tied the other end of the line around his own waist, so he would not lose it while fishing for his friend. "All together for the good caws!" shrieked the King Crow, and with a great flapping of wings the birds rose into the air. The Scarecrow clapped his stuffed hands in glee as he saw his friend drawn from the water into the air; but the next moment the straw man was himself in the air, his stuffed legs kicking wildly; for the crows had flown straight up through the trees. On one end of the line dangled the Tin Woodman, hung by the neck, and on the other dangled the Scarecrow, hung by the waist and clinging fast to the spare anchor of the boat, which he had seized hoping to save himself.