Dorothy and Queen of the Field Mice

The relationship between Dorothy and the Queen of the Field Mice begins not with a direct encounter but through an act of protection performed by the Tin Woodman. While the travelers are resting after escaping the poppy field, a great yellow Wildcat chases a little gray field mouse. The Tin Woodman, though he has no heart, knows it is wrong for the Wildcat to kill such a harmless creature, and he raises his axe and cuts the beast's head clean off. The field mouse, freed from its enemy, stops and approaches the Woodman, speaking in a squeaky little voice to thank him. When the Woodman dismisses the act by saying he is careful to help all who may need a friend, even if it happens to be only a mouse, the little animal indignantly reveals that she is a Queen—the Queen of all the Field Mice. The Woodman bows, and the Queen declares that he has done a great and brave deed in saving her life.

The Mice Rescue the Cowardly Lion

At that moment, several mice run up and bow so low to their Queen that they almost stand on their heads. The Queen tells them that the Tin Woodman has saved her life, and commands that hereafter they must all serve him and obey his slightest wish. The mice cry out in a shrill chorus that they will, but they immediately scatter when Toto, awakened from his sleep, sees them and gives a bark of delight, jumping into their midst. The Tin Woodman catches Toto and holds him tight, calling the mice back and promising that Toto shall not hurt them. The Queen of the Mice sticks her head out from under a clump of grass and asks timidly if the dog will bite them; the Woodman assures her he will not let him. One by one the mice creep back, and one of the biggest asks if there is anything they can do to repay the Woodman for saving the Queen's life. The Woodman says nothing he knows of, but the Scarecrow, who has been trying to think, quickly suggests that they can save the Cowardly Lion, who is asleep in the poppy bed. The Queen exclaims that a Lion would eat them all up, but the Scarecrow declares that this Lion is a coward, that he says so himself, and that he would never hurt anyone who is their friend. The Queen trusts them and asks what they should do. The Scarecrow asks if there are many mice who call her Queen and are willing to obey her; she replies that there are thousands. He then instructs her to send for them all to come as soon as possible, each bringing a long piece of string. The Queen turns to the mice that attend her and tells them to go at once and get all her people, and they run away in every direction as fast as possible.

The Queen's Gift and Future Alliance

While the Tin Woodman builds a truck from tree limbs, the mice begin to arrive from all directions—thousands of them, big and little and middle-sized, each with a piece of string in its mouth. Dorothy wakes from her long sleep and is astonished to find herself lying on the grass with thousands of mice standing around looking at her timidly. The Scarecrow tells her everything and introduces her to the Queen, to whom Dorothy nods gravely while the Queen makes a curtsy, after which they become quite friendly. The Scarecrow and the Woodman fasten the mice to the truck with the strings, and though the truck is a thousand times bigger than any of the mice, when all are harnessed they pull it quite easily. They manage to get the heavy Lion onto the truck, and the Queen hurriedly gives the order to start, fearing the mice will fall asleep if they stay among the poppies too long. The mice, with the Woodman and Scarecrow pushing from behind, roll the Lion out of the poppy bed to the green fields. Dorothy comes to meet them and thanks the little mice warmly for saving her companion from death, for she has grown so fond of the big Lion that she is glad he has been rescued. The mice are unharnessed and scamper away, but the Queen of the Mice is the last to leave. She tells Dorothy that if ever she needs them again, she should come out into the field and call, and they will hear her and come to her assistance. Dorothy holds Toto tightly lest he run after the Queen and frighten her. Later, when the travelers lose their way in the great fields of buttercups and yellow daisies, Dorothy remembers the Queen's promise. She blows the little whistle the Queen had given her, and in a few minutes the mice come running up, with the Queen herself among them. The Queen tells Dorothy that they have had the Emerald City at their backs all this time, and then notices Dorothy's Golden Cap and advises her to use its charm to call the Winged Monkeys, who will carry them to the City in less than an hour. The Queen explains that the charm is written inside the Cap, but warns that if Dorothy is going to call the Winged Monkeys, the mice must run away, for the Monkeys are full of mischief and think it great fun to plague them. Dorothy asks if the Monkeys will hurt her, and the Queen assures her they must obey the wearer of the Cap, then bids her good-bye and scampers out of sight with all the mice hurrying after her.