"Do you know what you're saying, Dorothy?" said the Lion. "I knew one of the Winkies who used to work for her sister, and he told me that when this one used to come and visit her, she would rant and rave and scream and yell the whole time she was visiting. Nobody could just talk to her. Of course, her sister was just as bad. They were quite a pair together. I don't see how you could talk to her."
"Not only that," interceded the Scarecrow. "This one holds Dorothy responsible for the death of her sisters."
"But it was an accident!" said Dorothy. "I had no control over where the cyclone chose to plop my house down, and when I threw the bucket of water over the other sister I was as surprised as anyone that the water melted her away. Everyone knows I'm completely innocent"
"Everyone but her," said the Tin Woodman. "She believes that you killed her sisters on purpose. She wants revenge, there's no question about that."
"Oh, dear," said Dorothy, sitting down on a rock and cupping her head in her hands. "What are we going to do?"
"There, there. Don't be discouraged," said the Lion, putting his paw on Dorothy's shoulder. "We must have courage, and trust that somewhere within the murky depths of her being there is a spark of goodness not yet dead that can be kindled into a glowing ember."
"You're right," said Dorothy, standing up briskly. "If we give up now, we would never forgive ourselves; we must give it all we've got and forget our fears, like Daniel in the lions' den."
Chapter Sixteen:
Thoughtformland
"I'm trying to imagine what Thoughtformland is like," said the Tin Woodman as they continued their journey.