The Forest Monster of Oz

  CHAPTER 3

  THE FOREST MONSTER

  Elephant stampeded frantically toward the scene, fearing for the life ofthe cat.

  "We'll need all the help we can get," Elephant said grimly. "That animalis big! But it has poor Fisher the Cat. We can't let it eat her up!"

  "Why not?" asked Nibbles.

  The Elephant slung himself against the Monster's leg as hard as hecould, but the creature did not even seem to notice. In a glance it wasapparent to the bird and the mouse that their companion was in trouble.

  "Elephant!" shouted Tweaty. "Get away from that thing! Look at itsteeth! It will eat your nose off! Get your body away from it!"

  Elephant vs. Forest Monster]

  But Elephant was determined. He made a loud trumpet noise and steppedon the Monster's foot. With a howl of pain, the Forest Monster droppedthe cat.

  "What do you think you're doing, to try and eat Fisher up like that? Apoor defenseless cat! You ought to be ashamed of yourself!"

  "I wasn't going to eat her up, you dolt!" said the Monster in a cold andscratchy voice. "I was trying to see if it was a lion. I was told by acertain squirrel that it was a lion who lopped my head off."

  "But you've still got your head," Tweaty interjected.

  "Yeah, _now_!" said the Monster. "But it was a pain in the neck tryingto get it back! And before I could, my body began to shrink. I keptgetting smaller and smaller. I felt like Alice after eating the wrongthing!"

  "Holy cow!" said Nibbles. "Are you saying that you were once bigger thanyou are now?"

  "No, actually. I found myself a way to restore my size."

  "How is that?"

  "I have captured a very magical insect-bug in one of my webs. Sweetlittle thing, too. Some people spray insects with a flit gun, but I liketo eat them up. Bugs are yummy in my tummy! But my little Lovebug isspecial. She doesn't go in my tummy. Instead, she gets to stay wound upin my web, only to be let free long enough to give me what I need."

  "What is that?" asked Elephant with a shudder.

  "The biggest and grandest thing in the universe is, of course, TrueLove. Even though shaped a bit like a cockroach, my Lovebug can producethe stuff inside her teeny little heart. All I have to do is chant acertain incantation and then to have her kiss me once or twice each day,and I stay as big as I like!"

  "But that is terrible!" said Tweaty. "You can't abuse Love that way!Love is supposed to be beautiful and friendly and stuff like that! Tocheapen this sacred gift by forcing someone into submission by magic orforce is an abuse of Love, and not what the gods had in mind for us atall. If you are making this Love-insect your slave, you are abusing thewhole concept and also missing the point!"

  With another tremendous roar, the huge spider was gone. He obviously didnot care for any more lecturing that day.

  "Good riddance, I say!" spoke Nibbles. "That big old thing was ugly! Andit smelled awful!"

  "Where's Fisher?" asked Elephant.

  "I think the thingy ate her up after all."

  "I sure hope not!"

  "I'm fine," came the feline meow. "Is that beast gone away yet?"

  "It has," answered the pachyderm. Oddly, neither Nibbles nor Tweaty feltthe slightest tinge of fear at the sight of the cat. In Oz, naturalenemies ofttimes become the dearest of friends. Indeed, Oz is a trulyremarkable land!

  "I think I saw all nine of my lives flash before me that time!" said thecat. "What in the heck _was_ that thing that had me?"

  "I don't know," said Elephant. "But I hope we'll never see it again."

  "But you have to rescue that poor little insect!" said an earthworm,poking her head out of the ground. "Didn't you bozos hear what thatthing said about Lovebug? He's got her stuck in his sticky web, and heis treating her like a slave and he's even making her--ugh!--kiss him!How yucky can you get? You must save that poor little bug. She is a goodbug. Love is always good! Please help her. Please. I can't bear to thinkof her in that predicament!"

  "It's a stupid bug, for crying out loud!" said Tweaty. "Don't you thinkthat we have more important things to do than to go and save a stupidbug?"

  "But this is Oz, where everyone is equal," Nibbles pointed out. "Even acat like Fisher is our friend. In this fantastic country, I'd think thateven a tiny insect is not beneath our concern. I think we should saveher."

  "Give me a break!" Tweaty said. "I'm not about to face that big uglyMonster again for the sake of a cockroach!"

  "She is not a cockroach," said the worm. "She is a kindly insect whohelps people in need to feel cared about. She has great powers to dothat for people. But that spider is misusing her powers and making herserve him in a most wicked capacity against her will. He is abusing herand she is probably miserable. How can you let him treat such a sweetbeing in such an awful manner?"

  "I, for one, am willing to try to help save Lovebug," said Elephant.

  "Me too," said Nibbles.

  "I think..."

  Before Tweaty could finish his sentence, a loud scream was heard.Hurrying toward the sound, they found Louie the Lobo with a paleexpression.

  "What happened?" asked Elephant.

  "Something took Tiger!" he said. "I didn't see who it was, but somethingtook him away while we were talking about the Tin Woodman. I don't knowwho would do such a foul thing! Tiger is my best friend! I yelled at thekidnapper, but to no avail. I have lost my best friend!" He began to crylike a kitten.

  "It must have been that awful Forest Monster-Spider!" Nibbles swallowedhard. "I know it was he who did this! He is so horrific! We must getword to the new Queen. We really must!"

  "I agree wholeheartedly," spoke Elephant. "We can not allow this sort ofthing to happen. Do you remember the last time enslavement was happeninghere in our Munchkin country?"

  "I do," said the mouse. "It was when that Wicked Witch had us allenslaved. Oh, she was ever so much worse than I had ever realized! I'mglad that house fell down and made her into mush."

  "But we cannot count on any houses falling down on this spider man,"said Tweaty with certainty. "You are quite right when you say that weshould do something about it. I was being awfully selfish when I refusedto do anything to help that little bug. But now my eyes are opened. Tothink that not even a tiger is safe in that Monster's wake! This meanssure danger for birds and mice and elephants, too!"

  "Then let's go and inform the new Queen straightaway!" trumpetedElephant. "I am willing to believe that she has the power to help us ifanyone does."

  "But we should have something to show her to prove that we are notinsane," said Nibbles. "After all, who would ever believe that such abeast could exist? It isn't natural. And besides ..."

  He cut his sentence short when his eye fell upon a large marking on theground.

  "Gads!" exclaimed Elephant. "That is one of the Monster's footprints!Goodness! Just look how deep it is! That creature must weigh a milliontons!"

  "Yes," agreed Tweaty, flittering into the hole. "This footprint isalmost as big around as a horse! And look at the size of those claws!I'll bet it could rip Elephant in two without even straining itself!"

  "Let's not discuss that," shuddered the pachyderm. "But I think weshould save this footprint for the Queen. Because she is a mere child,she will be most impressed by its mass. I think we should make a cast ofit and carry it to the Emerald City to show her what we are up against."

  Nibbles and Tweaty hurriedly went to a nearby maple tree and gnawed atits trunk for a time. With Elephant's help, they poured some maplesyrupy sap into the footprint. Elephant blew on this with his stronglungs until it hardened. Then, there before the trio, was a perfect castof the Forest Monster's footprint.

  Eagerly Elephant snatched it up in his trunk and flung it onto his back.

  "Let's get on our way," he said. The other two nestled upon his headand they were off to the Emerald City of Oz.