Fantasy literature; Oz (Imaginary place) -- Juvenile fiction
The Sniffers and Stinkfoots agreed to help in the Lunechien Forest
should their services be needed to help stop the devastation brought
about by the spider-monster. President Schnozzle handed Ozma a small
perfume bottle that, when opened, would release a perfume that could be
smelled only by a Sniffer, and would reach the distance from the forest
in only a matter of minutes. Ozma pocketed the little bottle and thanked
the Sniffer and Stinkfoot Presidents. Then Ozma and the party of five
was on its way to the land of the Saber-Toothed Light Bulbs.
"How far is it from here?" asked Elephant, who was still carrying the
others on his broad back.
"Well," said Hootsey, "it isn't exactly close. We will have to travel
through some fairly rough territory to get to the Light Bulbs. But I'm
sure our pachyderm is up to it, if anyone is. And we do have our new
Queen along as well. I really don't think we'll have too many problems."
However, unbeknownst to the little owl, problems were exactly what lay
ahead of them. The elephant walked on for a few miles without incident,
but then came upon a marshy area. "I don't remember this place," said
Hootsey with disdain.
The marshy area was barren of all trees. Stretched out before them lay
what seemed to be miles of reeds surrounding patches of dirty looking
water with steam rising to form a veritable fog. The whole area looked
very formidable and quite scary.
"I don't like this a bit," Elephant remarked, with a concerned
expression on his face. "Who knows what's laying in wait under that
water? And it doesn't look as if we could get very far without walking
through it."
"And who knows how deep the water is?" Tweaty said. "It could be two
feet or twenty; maybe even some of the solid ground is really
quicksand!"
Just then a loud twittering sound was heard; soft at first but then
increasing in volume to totally surround the little group. Then heads
appeared above the reeds to signify the source of the twittering. The
heads were square; powdery white; and with round eyes like you might see
on a stuffed toy--except the expression on the square faces was anything
but cute. One rather large creature stood up to reveal a body of the
same substance. His whole body looked as if it was composed of giant
marshmallows, including his arms and legs.
"_I suppose_," he shouted in a booming voice that sounded as if it were
coming out of the bottom of a barrel. "I suppose you people think you
are going to traverse our lands."
"Not really," answered Elephant.
"Oh, how silly of me. Of course you are just here for a picnic,"
responded the creature with a sneer. "I should have realized. Quick!
Grab 'em, boys!"
The little band was immediately surrounded by hundreds of the creatures
who threw fishing nets over them, then rolled out wooden cages on
wheels.
After everyone was confined in the cages, the leader stepped forward to
address them again.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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