The lion, with one paw shading his eyes, was looking up at them. "Are you afraid?" he called pleasantly. "Are you afraid? Well, don't be, for being a coward myself makes me very sympathetic." At the word coward Notta almost fell from the tree.
"Bob," whispered the clown hoarsely, "it's the Cowardly Lion himself! Now we mustn't let him know we're going to capture him."
"He's a very bad lion," interrupted Bob Up tearfully. "He tried to bite you!"
"What say?" called the lion, who could only hear an indistinct muttering.
"He says you are a very bad lion," repeated Notta, looking seriously at the great creature below.
"He's right," sighed the lion dolefully. "I am a bad lion. A good lion would have eaten you up by this time, but a bad lion often makes a good friend. Come on down. It was all a mistake."
"Are you a friend of Dorothy's?" asked Bob, leaning far out over the branch. At mention of Dorothy, the Cowardly Lion gave a guilty little jump.
"Well, I should say so. Are you friends of Dorothy's?"
"No, but we're from the same country," said the clown, "and if you're quite sure you don't want to eat me up, we'd like to ask you a few questions."
"I've never eaten a man in my life," roared the Cowardly Lion, rolling his eyes sadly.