Dorothy's Mystical Adventures in Oz Part 7

"The Octapong song, of course," said the Girrephalump, and in a deep baritone voice he sang,

"In the country where I'm from, there are lots of Octapong.

Octapong are people who, have eight feet but only one shoe.

That one shoe goes clippity-clop, while the other feet go hippity-hop.

With a hippity-hop and a bing-bang-boo, those Octapong are after you.

If you see one, run, don't stop -- 'cause if you do, your shoes he'll cop."

"Oh my," said Dorothy. "How terrible. Must we go through Octapongland?"

"I'm afraid we must," said the Lion. "There's no other way."

"And what about Colorland?" asked Dorothy. "What's that like?"

"No one lives in Colorland," said the Scarecrow. "It's just a place to visit for therapy."

"Therapy?" said Dorothy, looking perplexed. "Yes," said the Tin Woodman.

"For example, if you're feeling sad, you spend a half-hour in the Yellow Belt."

"Yellow Belt?" Dorothy said, looking puzzled again.

"Yes. You see," said the Lion, "Colorland is divided into seven Color Belts; each is a half mile wide. There's the Red Belt, the Orange Belt, the Yellow Belt, the Green Belt, the Blue Belt, the Indigo Belt, and the Purple Belt."

The Lion could see that Dorothy was still very puzzled. "Let me explain," he said. "You see, each of the seven colors affects you in a different way. For example, the first color we will pa.s.s through will be the Red Belt. Now you should never go into the Red Belt feeling angry."

"Why not?" asked Dorothy.

"Well," said the Lion, "you've heard the expression 'so and so makes me see red'?"

Dorothy nodded. "Well, red is a.s.sociated with anger," said the Lion. "So if you walk through the Red Belt feeling angry or resentful, it will just make you more angry or resentful."

"How does it make you feel if you're not angry or resentful?" said Dorothy.

"Then it will have a positive effect on you," said the Lion. "It will give you lots of energy, and if you're cold, it will make you feel nice and warm."

"How strange," said Dorothy. "It will certainly be very interesting.

We'd better look at the map again to see what comes after Colorland."

As Dorothy studied the map, the Scarecrow started to get the giggles.

"Oh dear!" he said, giggling uncontrollably. "Not again!"

"My goodness," said Dorothy. "What's going on?"

"Don't you see the name of the land next to Colorland?" said the Scarecrow. Dorothy peered at the map.

"Tickleland?" she said as she started to laugh. "I can't wait for you to explain this one."

"Let me explain," said the Tin Woodman. "The Scarecrow and myself are probably the only ones here who are not ticklish, so we're not concerned about traveling through Tickleland. But for you it will be an ordeal, believe me."

"An ordeal?" said Dorothy.

"I'm afraid so," replied the Tin Woodman. "You see, Tickleland is filled with Ticklemonsters. They are cousins of the Octapong; and whereas the Octapong have eight feet, the Ticklemonsters have eight arms, and that makes forty fingers to tickle you with if they catch you."

"Oh my goodness!" said Dorothy.

"You can imagine what it's like to be tickled all over at the same time," said the Scarecrow.

"Why on earth do they do that?" asked Dorothy. "And how can you get them to stop?"

"Well," said the Tin Woodman. "The reason they do it is quite simple: they do it for food, and the reason --"

"For food?" interrupted Dorothy. "Now you've lost me. What on earth has food got to do with it?"

"Well, they don't eat solid food like you do," said the Tin Woodman.

"They absorb their nourishment through the skin, and the sound of laughter is to them what food is to you. You see, the laughter energizes their skin molecules to give them energy and sustenance."

"Well, I never," said Dorothy.

"You never what?" said the Scarecrow.

"That's just another expression, silly," said the Tin Woodman.

"It's like saying, 'Well, I never would have believed that,'" said Dorothy.

"Well, anyway," said the Tin Woodman, "that's why they are called Ticklemonsters and why the land they live in is called Tickleland."

"Will they stop tickling you if you ask them to?" said Dorothy.

"On the contrary," said the Tin Woodman. "If you ask them to stop, they'll just tickle you all the more."

"What happens if you ask them to tickle you more?" she asked.

"Then they'll stop," said the Tin Woodman. "They don't like being told what to do, so they'll just go and find someone else to tickle."

"That's really something," said Dorothy, shaking her head. "I suppose we must go through Tickleland?" she asked.

"I'm afraid we must," said everyone.

"If they just look at me threateningly, I'll laugh," said Dorothy. "I'm so ticklish you wouldn't believe it"

"I'm not ticklish, but I laugh a lot when people say funny things," said the Scarecrow.

Dorothy smiled. "How long do you think our journey will take?"

"Oh, weeks and weeks," said the Scarecrow.

"My, that is longer than I expected," replied Dorothy. "Do you really think it'll take that long?"