What happens?
After passing through the dark forest and crossing the river, they came to a meadow full of beautiful poppies. The scent of these poppies is so powerful that anyone who breathes it falls asleep. Dorothy was quickly overpowered by the scent and fell asleep. The Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman carried Dorothy and Toto through the poppy field. The Lion was too heavy so they sadly had to leave him to sleep. They put Dorothy down gently beside the river, away from the poisonous flowers, and waited for her to wake up.
Have a think ..
Take a moment to think about these questions:
The scarecrow is so happy that he sings as they walk along. What’s your favourite happy song?
The Scarecrow gets stuck on the pole in the river. Have you ever got stuck? How did you escape?
The friends work as a team to get out of the river. What do you like about being part of a team?
Focus on plants
Dorothy, Toto and the Lion are overcome by the powerful scent of the poppies. What other plants are dangerous?
Find out more
Did you know there’s a plant so deadly that even drinking the milk of a cow that’s eaten it is fatal to humans? World’s deadliest plants.
And then there’s this guy!
Challenge yourself!
Photograph or draw an amazing plant from around your area. It could be a tiny flower, a huge tree or anything in between. Can you find out what your plant is called?
More to explore
If you loved this chapter, why not check out some more ideas
More to read
These books should be available through your secondary school librarian. If we’ve found a free version online, we’ve added the link after each book.
Poppy by Mary Hooper and its sequel Poppy in the field.
The secret garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett is a story of three children who discover a lost garden and bring it back to life. Online ebook.
Tom’s midnight garden by Philippa Pearce . When the clock in the hall strikes thirteen, Tom goes to investigate and discovers a garden that wasn’t there before.
Audubon : on the wings of the world by Fabian Grolleau is a graphic novel about John James Audubon, a man who was fascinated by birds.
The wheel on the school by Meindert DeJong is about a group of school children who want to bring storks to nest on their roof because they are good luck.
The King o’ the Cats is an ancient folktale. Read it here.
