"Habben chew?" the leader said, winking at his friends. "Den ah vill share some knowletch vi' chew to take vi' chew to da hereafter. (The other sharks roared with laughter at this). Ven our ocean dried oop millons off yearss ago, all da fishies died, includen uss sharks--except for two, zat iss. Undt dare chilluns ver born vi' liddle leggies. Ve arrda descendants off dose two, undt ve haff effolved over da yearss to our present selfs. Fully adapted to da land. Undt ve haff kept alive all deess yearss on a steady diet off hunsuspecting helaffant. So vat chew 'tink 'bout zat?" "N-n-not t-t-too m-m-much," answered Elephant in a high pitched voice. "I-I mean, I d-d-d-don't know wh-what t-to think." "Tell chew vat ve do," said the shark. "Chew seem like nice a guyss. Ve no eat chew tonight. Ve eat chew tomorrow--fer break'ast." [Illustration: Land Sharks] All the sharks laughed uproariously, whereupon they surrounded our heroes and promptly lay back down in the sand and went to sleep. "Well," said Watts. "This is a fine how-do-you-do. But I don't think we have to worry about these guys too much. I seriously doubt they could eat glass, so we can protect the rest of you." He smiled a very sharp toothy smile. "Besides, they seem to be very lazy. It isn't like they've enclosed us in a cage or anything like that. What's to stop us from simply slipping out between two of them and walking away?" "Ahh am," came a rumbling voice. "Ahh am ze vatchman uff ze Land Sharks. But chew do have a point. Ve cannot eat glass. Ve can break it, but ve can't eat it. Chew are uff no value to us. Ve vill only be able to eat ze meat creatchures. Chew that are a made from glass may go." Watts and his friends made their most ferocious faces at the Land Sharks. "You will allow us all to go!" said Watts to the Shark. "You will not hold any of us back! Besides, we have with us the Queen of Oz. Your own Queen, for crying out loud!" "Chew does have some pretty teeth, don' chew?" said the watchman. "But I am not afraid of chew, zo chew should leave now. I do not know chust 'zactly vat a queen might be, but I am sure that it iss delissious." "We do not have time for this," hooted Lisa. "We are on an important mission to save the Lunechien Forest of Oz from a gigantic Forest Monster, and you had better not hold us back! The Forest Monster is already bigger than the lot of you, and he will come for you sooner or later if you don't let us stop him!" "Vorest Monzter?" echoed the great shark. "That's what I said," replied Lisa angrily. "Chust vat iss ze Vorest Monzter made uff?" asked the shark. "Er, I don't know. Whatever monsters are usually made of," answered the female owl. "Flesh and blood, I guess." "Und he iss ass big ass chew zay he iss?" asked the shark. "Probably bigger by now," put in Tweaty, realizing what was happening. "Zen ve shall eat ziss Vorest Monzter!" said the shark. "Ve shall eat him 'til he iss only bones!"