Dorothy had barely finished speaking when the Lion said,
"You are all growing taller." Everyone laughed in surprise, for it was
he who was getting smaller -- or so it seemed. In actual fact, he was
sinking slowly into the soft ground. They all ran at once to pull him
up, but, the more they pulled, the more he sank. It was as if a strong
force was sucking him in.
"Ahhh!" yelled the Tin Woodman. "It's got me, too!" He was already in
the ground up to his knees when Dorothy reached him. "It's no good," he
said. "I'm sinking too fast."
While Dorothy was trying to pull the Tin Woodman out, the Scarecrow
yelled, "Now it's got me!" He was flailing his arms about and grabbing
at the tufts of grass in a desperate attempt to escape the dreadful
suction. But it was no use. By the time Dorothy reached him, he was
actually up to his waist. Dorothy was afraid to pull on him too hard,
for fear he would tear and all the straw would come out. She looked
around her in desperation. By now, the Lion was up to his neck; she ran
to him and grabbed his big ears.
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