Lisa was not entirely sure the Forest Monster had any bones, as she suspected that spiders had exoskeletons instead, but she saw no reason to bring this up at the moment. "Then you really don't need us. It is against the laws of the jungle to kill more than you can eat, and the Forest Monster will easily tide you over for a good long time." Ozma was not quite happy with the way things were turning out. She was not an advocate of killing at all. The thought of her willingly placing one of her subjects--even one so wicked as the Forest Monster--in mortal danger was a hard pill for her to swallow. Still, this development had apparently removed the threat to her own hide. "Then we shall be on our way," she said. "I will wish you a good night." The shark thanked her and, having no one left that he had to guard, settled down to sleep among his fellows. "This is odd," said Ozma as the group continued on its way. "We set out to rid ourselves of the Forest Monster, and now I feel inclined to find him so that we can warn him of his pending danger." "You are kidding, aren't you?" asked Watts. Ozma only looked solemnly at the ground and kept walking. CHAPTER 12 THE LION KING Now, when the Cowardly Lion of Oz had first tangled with and beheaded the Forest Monster, the other animals of the area had named him their king. They had since come to recognize Ozma as the overall ruler of Oz, but they joyfully accepted their tawny savior as their local leader. The Cowardly Lion had taken to the job as well as any coward could be expected to do. He knew that, when he had accepted this position of power, he also took on a responsibility. The other animals were now his subjects, and he felt it was his duty to protect them from outside dangers such as hunters or other predators. He also thought it politic to offer his advice whenever one of his new charges had a question or a problem. It was one such event that is pertinent to this part of our story. About a week prior to Queen Ozma's meeting with the Land Sharks, a young wombat had come to the Cowardly Lion to ask his advice. "Hello," said the smaller creature. "Your majesty, Mr. Cowardly Lion, Sir?" "Yes?" replied the Lion, looking around to see where the voice had come from. "W-who's that? W-who said th-that?" When his large eyes came upon the wombat, he seemed to smile. "Why, Ricardo, there you are. I didn't see you at first. How are you doing?" "Okay, I guess," said the wombat. "And your mother?" added the Lion. "She's fine," said Ricardo. "I am very happy to hear it," said the Cowardly Lion. "But tell me, my friend, why you seem so glum. A boy your age shouldn't have any problems that would cause such glumness. What's wrong?" [Illustration: Cowardly Lion and Wombat] "Weeeeell," began the wombat slowly. "It's kind of silly, I guess. But I wanted to ask your advice about something." "You think it's silly to ask my advice?" said the Cowardly Lion, pretending to be hurt.