The magic of Oz began with little more than a simple wish. The man who ruled at that long-forgotten time, King Ozroar, was not a very happy monarch. He ruled the beautiful land, but he had no magic with which to insure the happiness of the people. Sickening fogs would envelop the land from time to time, and the area was never very prosperous. Still, it was too beautiful to go overlooked by the fairies. These magical beings are able to see things as they should be, not only as they are.
One fairy who was especially interested in the land of Oz was a leader of fairies named Lurline.
Lurline was no ordinary fairy ruler, though. She had especial insight into the things that made beauty what it is. It was her keen insight that once brought her to Mount Olympus. This legendary mountain has long been said to be the home of many ancient G.o.ds. According to the Ozian storytellers, who still today will sit by your campfire and tell you a tale in exchange for a cup of tea or a morsel of food, these Immortals recognized her abilities at once, and she was admitted into their society of G.o.dhood. As a G.o.ddess, Lurline was able to gain access to many things.
With the help of her fairy band, as well as the input of her sister fairy, Polychrome, Lurline was able to give the Land of Oz the magical enchantment that made it what it is today. But she did not do the deed without a few pitfalls.
Among the things that Lurline required to fulfill the spell"s needs were Apollo"s own sky chariot, the flying horses to pull it through the air, Kole"s essence of crystal, and Lillith"s brazier of endless flame. At Polychrome"s suggestion, she also obtained Iris" jug of rainbow.
Unfortunately, Lurline was not always scrupulous. In this event, she elected to take the various magical requirements without the permission of the various deities. She stole into their chambers at night as they lay sleeping and took the elements she wished. She then went together with her fairy band and performed the enchantment over Oz.
She was banished from Mount Olympus as a result of her rash action. But, supposing the legend is all true, the marvelous Land of Oz remains as a glowing tribute to the powers of the Fairy Queen Lurline. And to insure its longevity, Lurline arranged for a fairy ruler to watch over the country she had created. Of course, the ruler would have to be a native Ozite. She would be a beautiful princess.
Princess Ozma was born several generations later unto a descendant of Ozroar and his wife Ozia, herself a descendant of fairies and daughter of Oziana. Young Ozma was prepared to take on the leadership of Oz upon reaching adulthood.
But Lurline"s plan was balked by the arrival of Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henckle Emmanuel Ambroise Diggs. This was a mortal man from outside of the enchanted land who landed there in a balloon. It had been he who had erected the Emerald City, and he who had sold the infant Ozma into slavery at the hands of a heartless old Witch named Mombi. To hide the infant queen, Mombi had transformed her into a boy. She believed that no one would ever think to look to a little boy to find the fairy princess, so Ozma was aptly hidden away for a very long time.
But things in Oz do have a way of working out for the best. After Diggs left the country, Ozma was found and restored to her proper being. She had aged very little, being that Oz folk age only when they choose to, and little Ozma had just been given her rightful place on the royal throne. Most of this history, of course, was unknown to Elephant and his companions. They saw only the fact that she was a child. They did not know of her unique experiences at all. If they had, they"d have surely recognized that she was more aware of human needs and the differences there connected. But even to their eyes, it was clear that this child was very special. They had every hope that she would be able to do as they needed done to rid their land of the terrifying Forest Monster.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Tiger caught in a Spiderweb.]
CHAPTER 6
THE GIANT SPIDER
Tiger growled as he watched his captor wrap him in the strong webbing.
He was a fairly small tiger, but he was accustomed to being larger than any spider he had ever heard of. This spider, he felt certain, was some sort of a freak of nature. Perhaps a direct result of the humans"
constant littering, or maybe a military experiment gone haywire.
"Ahh, my little p.u.s.s.ycat," laughed the creature. "I have you now. There is no need for further struggle."
"Like I told you before," grumbled Tiger, "I am not a lion. I am a striped tiger. Can"t you see that?"
"I can admit that you do not look like what I had in mind," replied the spider. "However, you are feline in nature. That is all I care about just now."
"But it wasn"t me who beheaded you. I am innocent!"
"Perhaps," the spider seemed unconcerned. "Perhaps what you say is true, and then again, perhaps you"re Lion to me. In any event, you are at the very least a distant cousin to that animal that lopped my head off. When he hears that you are in my clutches, he"ll be here."
"But this is a small, rarely traversed forest," said the tiger. "It isn"t often that news from the Lunechien Forest gets out to the rest of the country."
"Then you shall stay here as my guest," grinned the spider. "After all, the little insect has been satisfying me less lately. I had been using her sweet charity to keep myself giant-sized." He stalked over to a wall on the far side of the cave. Indicating two yellowing papers with crudely drawn human faces on them, he turned back toward his bound prisoner. "These are pictures I drew of the Great Masters. They created me, and gave me the powers I possess. When they asked me to devour their bald-headed little enemy, I was only too happy to comply. He had too much magic in him, however. I was sent away from my beloved Creators."
Tiger thought that the monster was about to cry, but he went on. "I made the best of it, though. I became the leader of a lot of wild animals in an untamed wood. Oh, they never actually called me that. But they feared me. You"d better believe it! They were scared spitless by me! Until one day, when that ... that ... that LION came along and used my head as if it were a baseball! But I"ll get even now, little friend. Believe you me! I will find that lion, and I will chomp his head off! You just wait and see if I don"t!" He turned to the drawing of the Witch of the East.
"I will avenge myself on this lion for us both," he said, crossing himself.
"But, really," begged Tiger. "I have no argument with you. Please let me free. I will help you bag your lion-prey."
"Not a bit of that!" snarled the spider. "I have better plans for you."
"Better plans?"
"Most definitely. As I was saying, the bug"s no longer sufficient for my needs. I am told that you have a powerful and courageous heart. Bold and fearless, is it not?"
"I"m afraid I don"t understand your ..."
"If I use your heartfelt emotions, which seem to be, er ... well, tiger-sized by definition ... If I can do that, I can remain giant-sized for time and all eternity. I can be all-powerful! I will be the bravest arachnid on the face of the earth! And next, my little chickadee, I plan to capture some little beasts that are called Hootsey and ... Lisa, is it? Owls, I think. They are known for their wisdom and kindness to their fellow Ozites. I care nothing for their kindness, of course. My power comes from the negative uses of the senses. But I plan to make use of their immense knowledge. Oh, yes! And then, my dear little Tiger, THEN!
I shall reach out to my definitive prize in all the Lunechien Forest.
That big wrinkly fellow I saw not too long ago. He had a nose like a garden hose, but my little bug has unwittingly told me that he is the one to whom the forest beasts turn when they have problems. He likes to solve problems, and has a phenomenal knack for it. He is wise beyond his years, and his emotions encompa.s.s all the land! He is also one of the strongest and most bold beasts in all the Lunechien territory--even putting the tigers like you to shame! When I can capture this Elephant, I will be all-powerful! I will be almighty! I will be superhuman! Then, I shall be able to take on the beast who has come to be known as the Cowardly Lion. A most unfitting moniker, wouldn"t you say, for a fellow who swiped off my head while I was asleep one day?"
"You"ll never get away with this!" roared Tiger. "Elephant is too big and strong to be beaten by any spider--even one so large as you!"
"We"ll see about that shortly, Shorty," replied the spider. "Now, won"t we?"
CHAPTER 7
THE FOREST MONSTER OF OZ
Meanwhile, word of the monster"s plans for Tiger had reached Elephant and Tweaty and Nibbles via Hootsey and Lisa. The trio had been showing Ozma the cast of the giant footprint when the owls flew in with the news. Ozma was astounded that such a beast could live in her domain without her being aware of it. And indeed, the beast had kept a fairly low profile until recently. But it was quite obvious that a power struggle was now going on. The beast was gradually finding out that he could grow larger and stronger at the expense of others and would no doubt not be satisfied until he was so large and powerful that every living creature would be under his domain. Why, even Ozma herself was in danger. The owls quickly informed her that the beast"s first goal was to capture Elephant in order to gain the super strength that would enable him to attack the Cowardly Lion. However, she knew he had to absorb Tiger"s power and courage first before he would dream of attacking Elephant. It was quite obvious he was going to have to think fast before Tiger became a mere sh.e.l.l of his old self.
Hootsey and Lisa were naturally quite concerned for their own welfare.
They did not want their wisdom sucked out of them by a giant spider with vampire-like tendencies. One has to live a long time and learn by trial and error before one can truly be considered wise. Of course, some people never learn. They make the same mistakes over and over. However, that is neither here nor there. The point is that Hootsey and Lisa were in as much danger as anyone and were very anxious to help in any way they could.
"If I might make a suggestion?" said Hootsey. "I recently came upon some unusual creatures that could very well be a match for the monster."
Of course, everyone was all ears, and fell silent as Hootsey began to talk.
"These creatures are very unusual in that they are technically made of gla.s.s and so would appear to be very fragile. But when they open their mouths they are a most ferocious sight to behold. They are of a bulbous shape with very long legs that can move at the speed of light--"
At this point Nibbles intercepted Hootsey"s graphic description.
"These animals sound most interesting, but they don"t sound particularly ferocious--"
"Oh, wait!" responded Hootsey. "I haven"t told you the best part. Their mouths are filled with razor-sharp teeth and they can rip any animal to shreds in two seconds. When a pack of them attack, the unfortunate victim never even knows what hit him. It"s over that fast."
[Ill.u.s.tration: Owl describing Saber-tooth Light-Bulbs]
"And what might the name of these creatures be?" responded Elephant.
"Well," answered Hootsey. "Two important factors contribute to their name. One is their ability to light their bodies up at night brighter than a hundred glow worms. The second is when they open their mouths and expose those teeth you would think you were looking at a Saber-Toothed tiger. Anyone want to guess their name?"