You've got to be taught to hate and fear.
You've got to be taught from year to year,
It's got to be drummed in your dear little ear--
You've got to be carefully taught!

You've got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made
And people whose skin is a different shade--
You've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught before it's too late,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate--
You've got to be carefully taught!

Love is quite different.
It grows by itself.

It will grow like a weed
On a mountain of stones;
You don't have to feed
Or put fat on its bones;
It can live on a smile
Or a note of a song;
It may starve for a while,
But it stumbles along,
Stumbles along with its banner unfurled,
The joy and the beauty, the hope of the world.

--Oscar Hammerstein II


THE FOREST MONSTER OF OZ

By Bob Evans

(author of _Dorothy's Mystical Adventures in Oz, Abducted to Oz_, etc.)

and Chris Dulabone

(author of _Toto in Oz, The Lunechien Forest of Oz_, etc.)

Illustrated by Dore Meers



Founded on and continuing the famous Oz stories by

L. Frank Baum

Royal Historian of Oz




This book is dedicated to
Lachie Dunn
who first discovered the existence of Saber-Tooth Light-bulbs




CHAPTER 1

THE COWARDLY LION'S HEROIC DEED


In all the world, there is no country or township known that can ever
compare against the beauty and magnitude of the Marvelous Land of Oz.
This is not a debatable issue. The Land of Oz is not only beautiful with
the glittering gemstones that are found commonplace in this remarkable
fairyland, but its enchantment goes ever farther. In all the territory
of Oz, there is clean, fresh air and gorgeous trees and scenery. There
is peace and quiet when such is desired, and there is high adventure and
excitement at other times. In Oz, no one ever grows older than he
chooses, and death is practically unheard of. The country is situated in
the center of a vast continent, and is surrounded by an impassable
Deadly Desert.

Although the vast Deadly Desert Around Oz aptly prevents tourism from
abroad, those who are fortunate enough to live on the proper side of
this sandy enigma will surely testify that the land is as no other.

The country itself is divided into five distinct regions. The most
important of these is the Emerald City. This famous area lies in the
exact center of the oblong land, and is home to the supreme ruler over
Oz. Her name is Ozma, and she is but a tiny child. Even so, no other
ruler in any other country has ever been more respected, loved, or
envied. To the south of Ozma's remarkable palace is the Quadling
Country. This is ruled over by a powerful Witch named Glinda the Good.
In the Quadling Country, red is the favored color, and most of the
buildings, walls and furniture are distinctly red in hue. To the west
lies the Winkie Country, which is a land where everything is bright and
yellow-colored. To the north is the purple Gillikin territory, and to
the east live the Munchkins. Among these little people, blue was clearly
the color of preference.

It is to this easternmost region that I wish to direct your attention.
It was in the blue Munchkin Country of Oz that a house happened to fall
from the sky and land with a loud crash atop a most unfortunate Wicked
Witch.

Now although this particular Wicked Witch was about as repugnant as they
come, and her evil doings had brought more misery to more people than
can possibly be recorded in these few pages, it was still rather sad to
see her wicked legacy brought to such an abrupt close. Especially as the
particular house that happened to squish her was one which belonged to a
tiny little girl named Dorothy Gale. To think that a mere toddler could
bring an end to the story of the Wicked Witch of the East!

But the story did not exactly end there. It seems that, before such time
as the old woman's liveliness was shmushed by little Dorothy's home, she
had left a little souvenir to remember her by. Actually, it was quite a
large souvenir!

She and her equally-vile sister Allidap, the Wicked Witch of the West,
had created the souvenir to do battle with the Wonderful Wizard of Oz
himself. Had it not been for the Wizard's powerful magic charms, he may
well have been defeated. But thanks to his magic, the Wizard of Oz was
able to thwart the attacks of the Witches and banish their souvenir to a
forest that lay in the southern land of the Quadlings. But fearing the
Witches may try to attack him again, the Wizard hid himself away in the
glorious Emerald City and became a hermit.

Then, one day, Dorothy's house came down and whumped out the Wicked
Witch of the East. This, needless to say, was not a healthy situation
for the Wicked Witch. Little Dorothy was advised in the Munchkin Country
to head for the central city and seek out the reclusive old Wizard,
being told that he alone could help her to get home to Kansas.

It was a long and difficult journey, but the child was equal to the
challenge. Along the way, she chanced to meet up with the Cowardly Lion.
He was a formerly respected leader of the Animal Kingdom, but this
particular lion had fallen into disgrace due to his outlandishly
unkinglike cowardice. He and the little girl became fast friends, and
they journeyed together in search of Oz and, later on, Glinda the Good.
It was on their journey to locate Glinda the Good that they happened to
stray into the very forest where the Witches' souvenir was staying. As
they walked through the vast forest, a large and tawny tiger approached
the Cowardly Lion and bowed subjectively before him.

"Welcome, O King of Beasts!" quoth the tiger. "You have come in good
time to fight our enemy and bring peace to all the animals of the forest
once more."

"What is your trouble?" asked the Cowardly Lion in a quiet voice.

"We are all threatened," answered the tiger, "by a fierce enemy which
has lately come into this forest. It is a most tremendous Monster, like
a great spider, with a body as big as an elephant and legs as long as a
tree trunk. It has eight of these long legs, and as the Monster crawls
through the forest he seizes an animal with a leg and drags it to his
mouth, where he eats it as a spider does a fly. Not one of us is safe
while this fierce creature is alive, and we had called a meeting to
decide how to take care of ourselves when you came among us."

The Cowardly Lion thought over the situation carefully.

"Are there any other lions in this forest?" he enquired.

"No; there were some, but the Monster has eaten them all. And, besides,
they were none of them nearly so large and brave as you."

The Lion got an idea that he hoped would help him overcome his disgrace.

"If I put an end to your enemy," he began, "will you bow down to me and
obey me as King of the Forest?"

"We will do that gladly," returned the big tiger. The rest of the forest
animals voiced assent.

"Where is this great spider of yours now?" asked the Cowardly Lion
bravely.

"Yonder," said the tiger, indicating with a tawny paw, "among the oak
trees."

The Cowardly Lion overcame his fear and ignored the trepidation within
his heart. He came upon the Forest Monster shortly thereafter. Even
though it was sound asleep, it was the most ghastly sight that the
Cowardly Lion had ever laid eyes on. It was huge, black and furry. It
was filthy, too. Its putrid smell had the Lion reeling in spite of
himself. But he pressed onward. The snores of the ugly Monster revealed
its razor-sharp fangs which measured in at at least a foot long. Its
powerful legs were as muscular as those of a Hercules and were as big
around as a house and as long as the trunk of a tree. The claws on the
end of its eight enormous legs were curved and as sharp as scimitars. It
was quite the sort of thing that nightmares are made of.

But the Cowardly Lion noticed that the Forest Monster had one weakness.
He was observant enough to notice that, though the spider was so much
larger than any other spider he had ever seen, its neck was as slender
as a wasp's waist. Given this obvious oversight on the part of the
Wicked Witches who had designed him, the Forest Monster suddenly seemed
less Monstrous to the Cowardly Lion. With a leap and a single blow of
his mighty paw, he knocked the Forest Monster's head clean off! He then
watched the writhing body until its legs stopped wiggling and he knew
that it was quite dead.

[Illustration: "_With a leap and a single blow of his mighty paw, he
knocked the Forest Monster's head clean off!"_]




CHAPTER 2

ELEPHANT'S DAY


"Elephant?" asked Tweaty, a yellow canary who was looking up at the
large gray beast.

"Yes?" asked the elephant, who was drinking a tall glass of chocolate
milk with his trunk.

"I was just thinking about the new Queen of Oz," said the bird solemnly.
"Do you think she'll last? I mean, I really thought that the Wonderful
Wizard of Oz himself would rule over the Land forever. Then I placed my
confidence in His Majesty the Scarecrow. Now, out of the blue, we've got
this little girl who is probably younger than most eggs, and we are
supposed to give her our neverending support?"

"Why in the world not?" the pachyderm drawled as he indolently stretched
himself. "Nibbles and I agree that, though she is very young, Princess
Ozma shows a lot of promise as Oz's new leader. Give the child a chance.
She's only been a Queen for a week or so!"

"Absolutely, Tweaty!" Nibbles agreed. "And so many rulers have been
youthful. Remember the old story about King Tut? He was just a little
boy."

Few persons guessed that Nibbles, Elephant and Tweaty were old friends,
so unlike were they in appearance and disposition. Tweaty was delicate,
clean and could sing for hours on end without repeating a tune. He took
pride in his appearance and always made sure that his refulgent feathers
were clean. Nibbles, on the other hand, was a mouse. He was often found
digging in the trash that was sometimes left by careless campers or
burrowing in other animals' nests. His fur was not what most would deem
tidy, but he was amiable and companionable. Elephant, by far the
largest of the three, was less colorful. He liked the other animals, and
he ofttimes wanted to help the smaller creatures as best he could, but
his immense size and bulk generally made him feel more like a nuisance
than a help. In spite of legends that would have us all believe that
elephants are afraid of mice, he found that most of his favorite
playmates were among the smaller creatures of Oz. He enjoyed fellowship
with mice, as well as with rabbits and hedgehogs. He had befriended
Nibbles at a young age, and it had been Nibbles who had introduced him
to Tweaty.

The three friends were enjoying a relaxing afternoon in a remote region
of the Munchkin Country known as the Lunechien Forest. It was a time of
transition in the Land of Oz. The child Queen, Ozma of Oz, had just been
named Ruler over the land. This news had met with mixed reactions. Many
Ozites maintained that only the Wonderful Wizard could rule the land.
Others favored the amiable Scarecrow. But all admitted that, even though
a tiny little girl, Ozma was a unique leader. She had already proven
that. She had not only created and brought to life a pumpkin-headed man
named Jack, a wooden Sawhorse, and a wobbly monstrosity with the head of
a Gump, but had also gone forth with these unlikely companions and saved
the Land of Oz from a terrible fate.

[Illustration: Elephant, drinking chocolate milk.]

"But she's a little girl!" said the bird. "She's a child! Children
should be allowed to enjoy their childhoods. This kid should learn to
play jacks or skip a rope. She should have some nice paper dolls to
dress up. She should have nice toys. She is too young to be a Queen. Let
her live a happy life for a while before you go throwing all that
responsibility on her. She's only a baby, for crying out loud!"

"She is a cute little thing, though," Elephant remarked, half to
himself.

"Cute?" Tweaty demanded in surprise. "That is hardly a reason to elect
someone leader. Especially over such a vast country as Oz. Maybe if Oz
were a little dinky insignificant country like America or Kansas, it
would be okay. But Oz is so much bigger than those places. Elephant,
don't you think that adorable infant deserves a childhood to enjoy
before getting schlepped into Queenhood unprepared?"

Before Elephant could reply, an unexpected occurrence drove all idle
thoughts from his mind. It all happened in an instant.

From the ends of the earth to the top of the sky, an unearthly roar
issued forth. It was as blood-curdling as a scream, yet as sinister as a
red dragon's growl.

Then, before the horrified trio, a gigantic spider loomed before them.
It looked as if it were hungry, and it was so uncannily big that it
could easily have devoured all three of them in an instant! It might
have, too, had it not been distracted by the sight of a small yellow cat
which was darting by. It took the feline in its massive claws and raised
her to its mouth.




CHAPTER 3

THE FOREST MONSTER


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

"We'll need all the help we can get," Elephant said grimly. "That animal
is 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 he
could, but the creature did not even seem to notice. In a glance it was
apparent to the bird and the mouse that their companion was in trouble.

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

[Illustration: Elephant vs. Forest Monster]

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

"What do you think you're doing, to try and eat Fisher up like that? A
poor 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 and
scratchy voice. "I was trying to see if it was a lion. I was told by a
certain 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 trying
to get it back! And before I could, my body began to shrink. I kept
getting smaller and smaller. I felt like Alice after eating the wrong
thing!"

"Holy cow!" said Nibbles. "Are you saying that you were once bigger than
you 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. Sweet
little thing, too. Some people spray insects with a flit gun, but I like
to eat them up. Bugs are yummy in my tummy! But my little Lovebug is
special. She doesn't go in my tummy. Instead, she gets to stay wound up
in 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, True
Love. Even though shaped a bit like a cockroach, my Lovebug can produce
the stuff inside her teeny little heart. All I have to do is chant a
certain 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! To
cheapen this sacred gift by forcing someone into submission by magic or
force is an abuse of Love, and not what the gods had in mind for us at
all. If you are making this Love-insect your slave, you are abusing the
whole concept and also missing the point!"

With another tremendous roar, the huge spider was gone. He obviously did
not care for any more lecturing that day.

"Good riddance, I say!" spoke Nibbles. "That big old thing was ugly! And
it 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 felt
the slightest tinge of fear at the sight of the cat. In Oz, natural
enemies ofttimes become the dearest of friends. Indeed, Oz is a truly
remarkable land!

"I think I saw all nine of my lives flash before me that time!" said the
cat. "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 that
thing said about Lovebug? He's got her stuck in his sticky web, and he
is 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 good
bug. Love is always good! Please help her. Please. I can't bear to think
of her in that predicament!"

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

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

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

"She is not a cockroach," said the worm. "She is a kindly insect who
helps people in need to feel cared about. She has great powers to do
that for people. But that spider is misusing her powers and making her
serve him in a most wicked capacity against her will. He is abusing her
and she is probably miserable. How can you let him treat such a sweet
being 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 pale
expression.

"What happened?" asked Elephant.

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

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

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

"I do," said the mouse. "It was when that Wicked Witch had us all
enslaved. Oh, she was ever so much worse than I had ever realized! I'm
glad 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 we
should do something about it. I was being awfully selfish when I refused
to do anything to help that little bug. But now my eyes are opened. To
think that not even a tiger is safe in that Monster's wake! This means
sure danger for birds and mice and elephants, too!"

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

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

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

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

"Yes," agreed Tweaty, flittering into the hole. "This footprint is
almost 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 we
should 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 of
it 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 at
its trunk for a time. With Elephant's help, they poured some maple
syrupy sap into the footprint. Elephant blew on this with his strong
lungs until it hardened. Then, there before the trio, was a perfect cast
of 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 head
and they were off to the Emerald City of Oz.




CHAPTER 4

AN UNLIKELY TRIO OF FRIENDS


Elephant, Tweaty and Nibbles were ready to leave, and it seemed that
dozens of other forest animals were of the same mind. The ferocity of
the Forest Monster had led many of the denizens of the Lunechien Forest
to panic. Many of them wanted to tell the Lord of the Forest about the
trouble, while others elected to go to Glinda the Good, who ruled over
the neighboring Land of the Quadlings. Animals were running to and fro,
and there was a mass of confusion.

"Look out!" Nibbles cried suddenly. "That Unicorn is coming right at
us!"

Elephant was helpless in trying to avert the disaster. An abnormally
frightened Unicorn, undoubtedly made nervous by the excitement, had lost
control of her footing. She plowed into the rear of the elephant with a
jolt which nearly flung the two passengers on his head into Glowing
Limbo.

Retrieving his companions and determining that they were unhurt, he
listened for a few moments to the oft-repeated apologies of the Unicorn
and then set out again.

"I sure hope that Queen Ozma can do something about that ugly brute,"
said Nibbles.

"If she can't, we'll be no worse off than when we started," replied
Tweaty.

The subject was dropped there. Elephant had run most rapidly and the
trio was now approaching the Emerald City.

"Excuse me," said the man at the gate. "Who are you and what is your
business in the Emerald City?"

"We want to see the child who has become our Queen," replied Elephant.

"On what grounds?"

"On the ground I'm walking upon now, I suppose. Is there a problem?"

"What is your business with the Queen? If you are here to make fun of
her age, you are welcome to go away. Queen Ozma was sent to us by the
Fairy Queen Lurline herself, and she has our respect. Even though she is
a tiny child, she is not to be made sport of."

"No one is making sport of anyone," said Elephant gruffly. "Though if
you don't get out of my way I may decide to use you for a football."

"That will not be necessary," said the guard. "But you will need to wear
green glasses. It is a rule that was set up by the Wonderful Wizard of
Oz himself. It is because of the gleaming magnitude of all the big
gemstones everywhere. If you don't wear these special glasses, you might
well be blinded by their brilliance. I hope you won't object to this."

"Well," said Elephant. "I fear that your glasses will not fit someone my
size. Nor, for that matter, the smaller sizes of my companions."

"Jeepers," said the guard. "I hadn't thought of that. Perhaps you're
right." He practically threw himself into his chestful of green glasses,
but found none that would fit the animals. "I guess I'll have to make
you some. This may take a while, so you'll have to find something to do
in the mean."

"How about we go and talk to the Queen while you make us our glasses?"
suggested Nibbles.

"A grand idea!" replied the guard. He opened the gate and the company
entered.

The Emerald City of Oz is a truly remarkable place. It has had so many
volumes written about it that it hardly needs a description here, but it
should be noted that our trio was most impressed.

Ozma, too, was very impressive. They came upon her while she was
engrossed in playing paper-dolls with another little girl on the palace
steps.

[Illustration: Ozma]

"Excuse me, your Majesty," said Elephant.

The child looked up from her game and smiled at the pachyderm. "Hello,"
she said quietly.

"My Dear Queen," said Elephant, "I and my cohorts are from the Lunechien
Forest of Oz. It is situated in the Munchkin Country, and we are proud
to call ourselves your subjects."

"Thank you very much," Ozma said politely. "Do you want to play
paper-dolls with us?"

"I--er, well, I suppose at some point I could be persuaded," stammered
Elephant. "But I have come on very important business just now."

As the animals watched, Ozma seemed to make a complete transformation.
She remained a child, but her eyes suddenly grew solemn and she raised
herself from her seat on the steps. Even though very young and
inexperienced, the Child Queen took on an appearance of regal splendor.
It made Elephant want to bow down before her, and this he promptly did.
It was fortunate that Tweaty could fly, but unfortunate that Nibbles
could not. Tweaty zoomed into the air without mishap as soon as
Elephant's head went down in his bow. Nibbles, however, was thrust
through the air by the impact of Elephant's exuberant show of
subjection. He flew toward the child and did not stop until he became
caught in her pocket. Ozma, being that she was only a little girl after
all, began to scream until Elephant reached into the pocket with his
trunk and retrieved the rodent.

"Thank you," Ozma said, composing herself. "When I was a little boy
named Tip, I'd have probably thought that very funny. But I am beginning
to feel like Ozma again. This is who I am truly destined to be. Now tell
me, what is the nature of your call?"

Elephant and the others quickly explained about the Forest Monster and
how they feared for their lives. As they spoke, the child grew more and
more solemn.

"It is hard to be a ruler over such a big land as Oz," spoke the child
after she had heard the news concerning the spider creature. "But I am
not willing to allow such a fiendish creature to harm any of my
subjects. I do not know of your Lunechien Forest, but I will do all in
my power to assist you."

[Illustration: Lurline, leader of the fairies]




CHAPTER 5

THE QUEEN OF OZ


The magic of Oz began with little more than a simple wish. The man who