"I hope so," said the Queen.
"It would take us several days to get to the Lion's forest if we had to go around your country," said the Tin Woodman.
"Very well," said the King. "The sooner you get started the better. It makes me very nervous to have you here. We had a high protective wall around us until a wicked witch zapped it off to some other realm out of spite. Now we are getting all kinds of riffraff wandering through our lands stepping on people willy-nilly. My army will escort you to the border to make sure you do not break anything, or anyone. If you do, my soldiers will attack you, for that is what they are trained to do."
"You can rest assured," said Dorothy, "that we will take every precaution."
As Dorothy spoke, she stepped back slightly to curtsy, but the heel of her shoe caught the Captain of the Guard's horse, causing it to rear up. The Captain dropped his sword with a clatter on the ground, breaking it into several pieces.
"My sword! My sword!" he cried, looking at it in dismay.
"Call the menders," ordered the King in a very loud voice.
"Call the menders," echoed the Queen in an equally loud voice.
The Captain of the Guard's face was red with anger and embarrassment.
"Attack!" he shouted to his men. "Attack! Before they break us all up!"