The Bestowal of Brains, Heart, and Courage

The morning after the humiliating exposure of Oz as a mere ventriloquist and balloonist from Omaha, the Scarecrow announced to his friends that he was going to get his brains at last. Dorothy, who had always liked him as he was, offered a simple farewell, but the Scarecrow replied that surely she would think more of him when she heard the splendid thoughts his new brain would produce. He then went cheerfully to the Throne Room and rapped upon the door.

The Bestowal of Brains

Oz, sitting by the window in deep thought, told the Scarecrow to sit down and excused himself for needing to take off the Scarecrow's head in order to put the brains in their proper place. The Scarecrow agreed readily, saying he was quite welcome to take his head off as long as it would be a better one when put back on. The Wizard unfastened the head and emptied out all the straw. He then went into the back room and took up a measure of bran, which he mixed with a great many pins and needles. After shaking them together thoroughly, he filled the top of the Scarecrow's head with this mixture and stuffed the rest of the space with straw to hold it in place. When he had fastened the head back on the body, he declared, "Hereafter you will be a great man, for I have given you a lot of bran-new brains." The Scarecrow was both pleased and proud at the fulfillment of his greatest wish, and thanked Oz warmly before returning to his friends. Dorothy looked at him curiously and saw that his head was quite bulged out at the top with brains. When she asked how he felt, he answered earnestly that he felt wise indeed and that when he got used to his brains he would know everything. The Tin Woodman noticed needles and pins sticking out of his head, and the Lion remarked that this was proof that he was sharp.

The Bestowal of a Heart

The Tin Woodman then walked to the Throne Room and knocked. Oz told him he would have to cut a hole in his breast to put the heart in the right place, and the Woodman replied that he would not feel it at all. Oz brought a pair of tinsmith's shears and cut a small, square hole in the left side of the Tin Woodman's breast. Going to a chest of drawers, he took out a pretty heart made entirely of silk and stuffed with sawdust. "Isn't it a beauty?" he asked. The Woodman, greatly pleased, replied that it was indeed, but asked if it was a kind heart. Oz assured him it was very kind, then put the heart in the Woodman's breast and replaced the square of tin, soldering it neatly together where it had been cut. He said, "Now you have a heart that any man might be proud of. I'm sorry I had to put a patch on your breast, but it really couldn't be helped." The happy Woodman exclaimed that he did not mind the patch and was very grateful, and he went back to his friends, who wished him every joy on account of his good fortune.

The Bestowal of Courage

The Lion now walked to the Throne Room and knocked. Oz went to a cupboard and, reaching up to a high shelf, took down a square green bottle, the contents of which he poured into a beautifully carved green-gold dish. Placing this before the Cowardly Lion, who sniffed at it as if he did not like it, the Wizard said, "Drink." When the Lion asked what it was, Oz replied that if it were inside of him, it would be courage, and that courage is always inside one, so this really could not be called courage until he had swallowed it. The Lion hesitated no longer but drank until the dish was empty. When Oz asked how he felt, the Lion replied, "Full of courage," and went joyfully back to his friends to tell them of his good fortune.

The Significance of the Humbug's Gifts

Left alone, Oz smiled to think of his success in giving the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Lion exactly what they thought they wanted. He reflected, "How can I help being a humbug when all these people make me do things that everybody knows can't be done? It was easy to make the Scarecrow and the Lion and the Woodman happy, because they imagined I could do anything." The gifts were entirely symbolic—bran and pins for brains, a silk heart stuffed with sawdust, and a green liquid for courage—yet each recipient immediately felt transformed. The Scarecrow declared he felt wise, the Tin Woodman was proud of his new heart, and the Lion announced he was full of courage. The event thus completes the psychological arc of each companion: their desires, which had driven the entire journey, are satisfied not by magic but by their own belief in the gifts they received. The episode also underscores Oz's essential goodness despite his fraudulence, as he genuinely wishes to make his friends happy even though he cannot perform real magic. The bestowal of these symbolic objects marks the resolution of the companions' quests, leaving only Dorothy's wish to return to Kansas unfulfilled, which Oz admits will require more than imagination.