They come upon a glass city, populated by the Mangaboos, a vegetable people. Being vegetables, they have no heart, and as a result are not very likeable and have difficulty showing mercy or kindness to anyone. Our travelers are forced into a pit, which turns out to be a road to more adventures.
The come upon an invisible people. They are invisible because they eat form a fruit which makes them so. The piglets eat of the fruit, and are invisible. However the Wizard is able to get them back into his pocket. The people all prefer to stay invisible all the time so as to avoid the bears. The bears are also invisible. The fruit is very good. However our travelers prefer to stay visible. They almost meet there fate at the hands of the bears, except for a local who tells them about a plant which makes them buoyant. They use this, and all walk into the river. The bears don’t know this secret. They escape to a mountain, and begin the long climb up.
The meet a braided man who makes flutters (wind to blow flags) and holes, donut holes, post holes etc. He stacked several post holes on top of each other and fell into the earth and that is why he is there.
They continue their trek up and come upon the world of the Gargoyles. In this world everything is made of wood, even the people. The Gargoyles are flying creatures. They do not like noise. However they overcome the travelers, and take them to a tower where they are locked up without wings. Eureka, being a cat, explores and is able to climb (or go) down and discovers the wings of the Gargoyles are detachable. The Wizard lowers Zeb, using the horses tackle, and Zeb comes back with enough stolen wings to attach them to the horse and the buggy. Being a magical kingdom they work, and the travelers are off again. They reach another tunnel, which comes to an end, as they can see the surface of the earth.
In our last story, Dorothy had stolen the Gnomes magic belt. Ozma uses this to bring all these friends, old and new to Oz. Everything would have turned out happy, except a piglet comes up missing, and it is assumed Eureka ate the little thing. This piglet had been a gift to Ozma from the Wizard. A trial ensues, and the Wizard proposes using another piglet to confuse the jury, and get Eureka off, because destroying Eureka for murder would make everyone unhappy. Eureka won’t have it, pointing out the differences between this piglet and the missing piglet. Eureka then confides she had intended to eat the little piglet, but he fell into a vase and was saved. The court is able to save the piglet, but still no one trusts or likes Eureka.
A couple excerpts I liked:
Speaking of the vegetable people: “I don’t like these veg’table people,” said the little girl. “They’re cold and flabby, like cabbages, in spite of their prettiness.”
“I agree with you. It is because there is no warm blood in them,” remarked the Wizard.
“And they have no hears; so they can’t love anyone—not even themselves,” Declared the boy.
Before Eureka’s trial: They now separated to prepare for the sad ceremony; for whenever an appeal is made to law sorrow is almost certain to follow—even in a fairy-land like Oz.
In prosecuting the case, the Woggle-Bug says he can see the Kitten in his “mind’s eye.” This conversation follows: “What’s that?” asked the Scarecrow.
“I can see her in my mind’s eye—“
The mind has no eye,” declared the Scarecrow. “It’s blind.”
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