The Oz Series

Chapter 21

Part of the Dorothy's Journey to the Wizard and Back to Kansas arc.

This encyclopedia covers chapters 1 to 100 of the story and shows the world as it stands at chapter 100, so it contains spoilers up to that point. To read it spoiler free, one chapter at a time, open the interactive codex.

What happens

After climbing down from the second china wall, the travelers find themselves in a disagreeable country full of bogs and marshes covered with tall, rank grass so thick it hides the muddy holes, making it difficult to walk without falling. Picking their way carefully, they reach solid ground, but the country grows wilder, and after a long tiresome walk through underbrush they enter another forest with trees bigger and older than any they have seen. The Lion declares the forest perfectly delightful and wishes to live there all his life, admiring the soft dried leaves and rich green moss, while the Scarecrow finds it gloomy. They walk until dark, sleep with the Woodman and Scarecrow keeping watch, and in the morning hear a low rumble like the growling of many wild animals. Following the well-trodden path, they come to an opening where hundreds of beasts of every variety are gathered, including tigers, elephants, bears, wolves, and foxes. The Lion explains the animals are holding a meeting and judges from their snarling that they are in great trouble. The biggest tiger approaches, bows, and welcomes the Lion as King of Beasts, saying he has come in good time to fight their enemy and bring peace to the forest.

The tiger describes their enemy: a tremendous monster like a great spider, with a body as big as an elephant and eight legs as long as tree trunks, which crawls through the forest seizing animals with its legs and eating them as a spider eats a fly. The monster has already eaten all the other lions, and none of the beasts is safe. The Lion asks whether the beasts will bow down and obey him as King of the Forest if he destroys their enemy, and they roar their agreement. Directed to the monster among the oak trees, the Lion bids his comrades good-bye and marches off to battle. He finds the great spider asleep, its legs long as the tiger said, its body covered with coarse black hair, its great mouth full of foot-long sharp teeth, but its head joined to the pudgy body by a neck as slender as a wasp's waist. Seeing this weakness and knowing it is easier to fight the creature asleep, the Lion springs onto the monster's back and with one blow of his heavy clawed paw knocks its head from its body, watching until the legs stop wiggling to confirm it is dead. He returns to the beasts, announces they need fear their enemy no longer, and they bow down to him as their King; he promises to return and rule over them as soon as Dorothy is safely on her way to Kansas.

Who is in play

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