Heart of a Tin Man

W. W. Denslow’s 1900 Illustration of The Tin Woodman.

Much of Frank Baum’s magic disappeared when The Wonderful Wizard of Oz became a movie, such as the Dainty China Country and the Tin Man’s love story. Few people realize the Tin Man had once enjoyed a loving heart. That’s how he knew he wanted one.

The Tin Woodman, as Baum called him, “was born the son of a woodman.” He grew up in his father’s footsteps and cared for his mother after his father’s death.

“There was one of the Munchkin girls,” he told the Scarecrow, “who was so beautiful that I soon grew to love her with all my heart.”

The girl promised to marry him as soon as he’d earned enough to build them a house, so he set to work. But the lazy old woman the girl lived with depended on her labor. So, she bargained with the wicked Witch of the East to enchant the man’s axe.

As he labored, the young man’s axe struck his leg, causing him to lose it, but the tin-smith crafted him a prosthetic. It happened again with the other leg, then with one arm and then the other. Each time, the tinner created a replacement.

When the cursed axe injured the young man’s head, the tin-smith crafted a replacement. It was functional but had no brain. And, when his injured body was replaced with tin, it had no heart. At that point, the Tin Man said, “I lost all my love for the Munchkin girl.”

“Brains are not the best things in the world,” the Tim Man told the Scarecrow. “Having tried them both, I should much rather have a heart.”

“I am resolved to ask Oz to give me one,” he said. “If he does, I will go back to the Munchkin maiden and marry her.”

“I shall ask for brains instead of a heart,” the Scarecrow said, “for a fool would not know what to do with a heart if he had one.”

“I shall take the heart,” said the undaunted Tin Man, “for brains do not make one happy, and happiness is the best thing in the world.”

Don’t let the wounds of mortality steal your humanity. True happiness flows from a loving heart.