array of good things to eat, all neatly displayed on
tin dishes that were polished till they shone like
mirrors. The tray was set upon a tin table drawn
before the throne, and the servant placed a tin chair
before the table for the boy to seat himself.

"Eat, friend Wanderer," said the Emperor cordially,
"and I trust the feast will be to your liking. I,
myself, do not eat, being made in such manner that I
require no food to keep me alive. Neither does my
friend the Scarecrow. But all my Winkie people eat,
being formed of flesh, as you are, and so my tin
cupboard is never bare, and strangers are always
welcome to whatever it contains."

The boy ate in silence for a time, being really
hungry, but after his appetite was somewhat satisfied,
he said:

"How happened your Majesty to be made of tin, and
still be alive?"

"That," replied the tin man, "is a long story."

"The longer the better," said the boy. "Won't you
please tell me the story?"

"If you desire it," promised the Tin Woodman, leaning
back in his tin throne and crossing his tin legs. "I
haven't related my history in a long while, because