Fighting Trees

The Fighting Trees are a group of animate, hostile trees encountered by Dorothy and her companions on their journey south from the Emerald City, forming a brief but memorable obstacle that tests the group's resourcefulness and the Tin Woodman's axe.

Identity and Appearance

The Fighting Trees are a row of trees at the edge of a thick wood that Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, the Cowardly Lion, and Toto must pass through on their way to the Land of the South. They are distinguished by their ability to bend their wide-spreading branches down to seize and fling intruders. The first tree the party encounters has such wide-spreading branches that there is room for the party to pass underneath, but as soon as the Scarecrow walks under them, the branches bend down, twine around him, and fling him headlong back among his fellow travelers. The Scarecrow, being stuffed with straw, is not hurt, but he is surprised and left looking rather dizzy. The trees seem to have made up their minds to fight the travelers and stop their journey.

The Encounter and the Tin Woodman's Solution

The Scarecrow tries a second tree, but its branches immediately seize him and toss him back again. The Lion remarks that the trees seem determined to fight them. The Tin Woodman then steps forward, shouldering his axe, and marches up to the first tree that had handled the Scarecrow so roughly. When a big branch bends down to seize him, the Woodman chops at it so fiercely that he cuts it in two. The tree immediately begins shaking all its branches as if in pain, and the Tin Woodman passes safely under it. He shouts for the others to be quick, and they all run forward and pass under the tree without injury, except Toto, who is caught by a small branch and shaken until he howls. The Tin Woodman promptly chops off the branch and sets the little dog free.

Significance and Aftermath

The other trees of the forest do nothing to keep the travelers back, leading the party to conclude that only the first row of trees can bend down their branches, and that these are probably the "policemen of the forest," given this wonderful power in order to keep strangers out. The encounter is a brief but effective demonstration of the Tin Woodman's practical value to the group, as his sharp axe and decisive action are the only means of overcoming the obstacle. The episode also reinforces the episodic, adventure-by-adventure structure of the journey, where each new challenge requires a different member of the party to step forward with their particular skill.