Its hoofs, or rather the
ends of its wooden legs, were shod with plates of solid gold, and the
saddle strapped to the wooden body was richly embroidered and
glistened with jewels.
As he reached the palace the Scarecrow looked up and saw Dorothy, and
at once waved his peaked hat at her in greeting. He rode up to the
front door and dismounted, and the band stopped playing and went away
and the crowds of people returned to their dwellings.
By the time Dorothy and her friends had re-entered her room, the
Scarecrow was there, and he gave the girl a hearty embrace and shook
the hands of the others with his own squashy hands, which were white
gloves filled with straw.
The shaggy man, Button-Bright, and Polychrome stared hard at this
celebrated person, who was acknowledged to be the most popular and
most beloved man in all the Land of Oz.
"Why, your face has been newly painted!" exclaimed Dorothy, when the
first greetings were over.
"I had it touched up a bit by the Munchkin farmer who first made me,"
answered the Scarecrow, pleasantly. "My complexion had become a bit
grey and faded, you know, and the paint had peeled off one end of my
mouth, so I couldn't talk quite straight. Now I feel like myself
again, and I may say without immodesty that my body is stuffed with
the loveliest oat-straw in all Oz." He pushed against his chest.
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