A Winkie in time

"Oh, my!" said Dorothy as she sat outside the castle entrance, hidden by a rock. "Look at all those huge guards marching back and forth outside the castle entrance."

"Those aren't guards," said the lion, who was also hiding behind a rock. "Those are Winkies."

"Winkies?" asked the Tin Man, who was behind a nearby rock. "That's a strange name for them."

"Well, that's what they call them," said the lion.

"Well, they don't look like any Winkies I've ever seen," said the Tin Man.

"How many Winkies have you seen?" asked the Scarecrow from behind his rock.

"None of your business," said the Tin Man.

"Well, whatever you call them, they sure look scary," said Dorothy. "How are we supposed to get by them?"

"Perhaps we could steal one of those big metal things that they carry," said the Scarecrow.

"Or we could simply 'borrow' one of their halberds," said the Tin Man.

"No, thanks," said the Scarecrow. "I'd rather have one of those big metal things."

"Well, as long as we're planning to take things from the Winkies, perhaps you guys can steal me an uniform so that I'd have something to wear," said Dorothy.

"No, that would never work, Dorothy," said the Scarecrow. "Those uniforms are so not your size."

"That doesn't matter," said Dorothy. "At this point, I'll wear anything."

"Well, I suppose we could steal you a hat," said the Scarecrow.

"That's a nice thought, Scarecrow, but I don't really need a hat," said Dorothy.

"Oh, my, aren't you fussy, Little Miss I'll Wear Anything?" said the Scarecrow.

"Scarecrow!" exclaimed Dorothy.

"Well, we gotta do something, fellas," said the Lion. "Those guys aren't going to be marching forever. Sooner or later they're going to get tired and then they're going to go inside for the night and have the drawbridge close up behind them."

"Well, maybe we can sneak in after them," said the Scarecrow.

"Maybe," said the Lion.

"Hey," said Dorothy, "why does there seem to be fewer Winkies out there than there were before?"

"Well, I suppose some of them went out on patrol," said the Lion.

"Well, I don't see them," said the Scarecrow.

"They're not necessarily going to patrol out there," said the Lion. "They might decide to patrol all kinds of places."

"Like behind us?" asked Dorothy.

"Don't be silly, Dorothy," said the Scarecrow. "Why would they be patrolling behind us?'

"I don't know," said Dorothy. "But those three tall guys behind us look pretty familiar."

The Lion, the Scarecrow and the Tin Man turned around just in time to see three Winkie guardsmen standing behind them. As they watched, the Winkies lay aside their halberds and leapt out at them.

"Why can't the Wicked Witch have lazy Winkies for a change?" asked the Scarecrow.

But by then, the Winkie guardsmen were upon them.