The Oz Series

Chapter 78

Part of the Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz: The Underground World 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

The strangers sit willingly at the table, each place holding a fragrant dama-fruit whose sweet perfume tempts them, but Dorothy and her companions resist and satisfy their hunger with the other food, refusing to become invisible. The woman's voice asks why they do not eat the damas, and Dorothy answers they do not want to become invisible; a girlish voice warns that visible people will be seen and devoured by bears, and explains the people of Voe prefer invisibility because they can still hug and kiss one another and are safe from bears, and need not be particular about dress. The mother says she still makes the boy Ianu wash his face whether she can see it or not.

Dorothy stretches out her hands and asks Ianu and his sister to come near so she can feel them; passing her hands over their faces and forms, she determines one is a girl about her own age with soft fluffy hair and satin-smooth skin, and the other a somewhat smaller boy, both well and delicately formed. She declares that if she could see them they would be beautiful. The mother replies the people of Voe are not vain because they cannot display beauty, so good actions and pleasant ways make them lovely; yet they can appreciate flowers, trees, fields, and sky.

Zeb asks about birds, beasts, and fishes. The woman explains they cannot see the birds or the cruel bears because both eat the damas, but they hear the birds' songs, and they can see and catch the fishes that swim in the brooks. The Wizard observes they have much to make them happy even while invisible, but insists his party prefers to remain visible in the valley.

Eureka enters hungry from wandering outside with Jim; the children are frightened, mistaking her for a small bear, until Dorothy reassures them Eureka is a harmless pet. When the kitten springs onto a chair and paws the tablecloth, an unseen hand clutches her, holds her suspended, and, as she scratches and bites in terror, drops her to the floor. Dorothy tells Eureka the house holds invisible people and she must have better manners. Dorothy sets a plate of food on the floor, which Eureka eats greedily, then begs for the nice-smelling dama-fruit; Dorothy forbids it, warning it would make Eureka invisible, and the kitten agrees to abstain if the tempting fruit is kept away from her.

The Wizard, addressing the air, asks whether there is any way out of the valley and back to the top of the earth. The man's voice says one may leave the valley easily but only into a far less pleasant country, and doubts reaching the earth's surface is possible. Dorothy insists they have been there and know it. The man advises them to cross the valley and mount the spiral staircase inside the Pyramid Mountain, whose cloud-lost top opens onto the awful Land of Naught where the Gargoyles live. Asked what Gargoyles are, the man does not know, but relates that their greatest Champion, Overman-Anu, once climbed the stairway and fought nine days with the Gargoyles before escaping, would never describe them, and was soon afterward caught and eaten by a bear.

Dorothy resolves to face the Gargoyles since it is the only way home, comparing them to the Wicked Witch or the Nome King. The Wizard notes she previously had the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman to help conquer such enemies, whereas now she has no warrior; Dorothy suggests Zeb could fight, and the Wizard cites his jointed sword that halved the vegetable Sorcerer plus other useful things in his satchel. The man's voice reveals the Gargoyles most dread noise, since the Champion's battle-cry made them shudder and draw back. The Wizard is encouraged, since the party can yell better than fight. Asked how a brave invisible Champion was known to be eaten by invisible bears, the man explains that when any creature dies the dama-fruit charm ceases and the slain becomes visible; the Champion had killed eleven bears, each becoming visible when dead, and after his death the people saw scattered visible pieces of him that vanished as the bears devoured them.

The party bids farewell to the unseen cottage folk, who point out the pyramid-shaped Pyramid Mountain across the valley and give travel directions. They follow a broad stream past more empty-seeming cottages amid plentiful fruits, flowers, and damas. About noon they rest Jim in an orchard and eat cherries and plums, when a soft young-girl's voice warns that bears are near. The Wizard draws his sword and Zeb grabs the horse-whip; the unseen girl says they cannot escape that way but must take to the river, since bears will not venture on water. She jerks a broad-leaved plant from the ground and holds it suspended, instructing them to rub its leaves on the soles of their feet so they can walk on water without sinking, a secret unknown to the bears. The Wizard rubs a leaf on Dorothy's shoes and his own, Dorothy rubs Eureka's paws, and Zeb rubs his own feet, all four of Jim's hoofs, and the buggy-wheel tires. As Zeb finishes, growling erupts and Jim jumps and kicks. At the girl's urging the Wizard drags the buggy, with Dorothy and Eureka aboard, out onto the broad river, where it does not sink; he returns to help Zeb and Jim. The horse, plunging with two or three bleeding gashes on his flanks, frees himself with kicks and trots out onto the water to safety; Zeb runs across the water to Dorothy. As the Wizard turns to follow, he feels a hot breath and hears a growl, stabs at the air with his sword until the blade drips blood, and on the third thrust a loud roar and fall reveal a great red bear, nearly as big as the horse and much fiercer, lying dead at his feet. Hearing more growls, the Wizard rushes out onto the water. The Wizard mends Jim's claw-cuts with sticking-plaster from his satchel, and they resolve to stick to the river, which flows toward the Pyramid Mountain. Zeb re-hitches Jim, and the horse draws them rapidly over the smooth water; Eureka, at first afraid of getting wet, soon frisks alongside and snatches and eats a careless fish, though Dorothy cautions her against eating in this valley of enchantments.

After several hours the river curves, requiring them to cross a mile or so of valley on land to reach the Pyramid Mountain, a region of few houses and orchards where they fear more bears. The Wizard tells Jim to make a dash and run as fast as he can; Jim agrees despite his age. All three board the buggy, and the smarting horse, spurred by fear of the invisible bears, gallops so fast Dorothy catches her breath. Zeb mischievously growls like a bear, and Jim flies faster, his legs a blur, while the Wizard clings to the seat yelling "Whoa!" Jim reaches the foot of the mountain and stops so suddenly that the Wizard and Zeb sail over the dashboard into the soft grass, rolling several times; Dorothy holds fast to the iron seat-rail and is saved, squeezing Eureka until it screeches, while Jim makes sounds that suggest he is laughing at them.

Who is in play

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