Week 4: Toto and the Mountain

Dorothy and the gang travel to the Emerald City to seek out the Wizard of Oz, each with something in mind they so desperately want. The Wicked Witch of the West watching, all so mindful, is hellbent to stop the ruby slipper wearing ginger and her band of misfits.

"Oh how I cant wait to return to my beautiful Kansas farm, we may not be able to grow crops due to all the tornado's but still: there's no place like home." Dorothy gleefully stated as they skipped in unison. 
"Well if you can't grow crops then what do your scarecrows have to defend?" asked Scarecrow. 
"Well, you see all of our scarecrows ended up as firewo-" 
"POPPIES!" interrupts Lion.
"Oh they're beautiful!" exclaims Dorothy.
"Now this is a field worth guarding" Scarecrow states impressed.
"-And there is the Emerald City! We are so close, let us not get distracted by the poppies and move forward!" shouts the ever so goal-oriented Tin Man.


Watching from her castle's magic crystal ball:
"Yes, yes, admire the poppies, watch as they take your lives ever so softly in a sleep that you shall never awake from not even with... true love's kiss! Hehehe" laughed sinisterly the Wicked Witch of the West. 

"Oh wow, I'm starting to feel sleepy... I think these are melatonin poppies." the curious and sleepy Dorothy says. 
"I could use a catnap" yawns, Lion.
"Melatonin poppies don't exist Dorothy! We don't have time for catnaps lion we mustn't stop, we must press for-" Tin Man stops abruptly.


But before Tin Man could object anymore he too had passed out. The four were all laying in the field of poppies sound asleep when Toto arrived on the scene:
"Barkk-?" barks Toto.
"BARK, BARK, BARK!" barks Toto in concern.

Glenda in her bubblegum bubble appears:
"Hello, Toto thank goodness you're here! I am only safe from the poppies while in my bubble!" exclaims Glenda.
 "Bark?" barks Toto
"Yes, it did take a lot of Hubba Bubba Bubble Tape and practice to perfect my bubble transport service, I call it Lyft." answers Glenda.
"Bark?" barks Toto.
"Toto focus! Whether it follows the laws of physics doesn't matter right now! Dorothy and the others need your help!" Yells Glenda.
"You must travel to the Himalayas and bring back snow from the peak, but not just any snow you must bring back perfect snowboarding snow! Perfect snow for snowboarding comes in many forms. Bring it back and sprinkle it on them and they shall awake." says Glenda
"Bark?" barks Toto
"I cannot answer any more questions, take some bubblegum. I just got a bubbleping that a munchkin needs a lyft to The Shire. I must go, my lyft rating is too important!" With that, Glenda the Good Witch and her bubblegum bubble were gone. 


Toto understanding the dire situation scurries, as fast as his little legs can take him, off to the Himalayas. Once there he begins searching for the perfect snowboarding snow but to no avail, he doesn't seem to see the difference in all of it. Frustrated and cold Toto decides to take the whole mountain. With the hubba bubba bubblegum tape from Glenda, he begins to chew. He chews and chews and chews some more, it takes all the bubblegum but he does it and creates a massive bubble that engulfs the great mountain. With the mountain enclosed in the bubble and his leash secured to the mountain's base, he scurries back to the poppy field as fast as his little legs can take him. 


The Wicked Witch seeing the proud pooch bringing the whole mountain becomes enraged:
"Methinks we will be having puppy soup tonight boys! Go forth and burst that bubble so that Dorothy remains asleep. Fly my pretties, fly!" shes maniacally calls to the monkeys. 

As Toto reaches the field the monkeys reach him. They fly straight for the bubble from all sides. The pressure of monkeys on the bubble is too much and it bursts. The sudden influx of hot air from outside the bubble mixed with the cold air inside from the mountain collide and cause the mountain to implode. Snow and dirt rain down from the once floating mountain bubble.

Dorothy and the others begin to awake:
"That was a wonderful catnap." purs Lion.
"What a weird dream I just had, I dreamt we met the wizard and he was a phony. You were there and you were there..." exclaims Dorothy. 
"Dorothy we haven't even made it to Oz yet, we fell asleep in the poppies" states Tin Man.
"Oh, right... Well, let's not waste another second, you ready to go Toto?"
"Bark, Bark" barks Toto.

They skip off again, in unison, towards the Emerald City. And you know the rest... "there's no place like home."



Toto reaches the Himalayas
(Mountain climbing Cairn Terrier by Kristen Kobberstad)

Authors Note:
I thought the similarities in the Wizard of Oz scene with the poppy field and the story of  Hanuman and the Mountain were funny and close enough related. In the Indian Epic: Ramayana, Indrajit has a weapon that wipes out the entire army. Jambavan, the King of Bears, still alive tells Hanuman to go get herbs from Himalaya, the King of Mountains, as they will save the lives of the army. Hanuman cannot distinguish the herbs so he brings the whole mountain. I knew it was farfetched enough to give me room to change up the Oz story and incorporate Hanuman's story retold as Toto. Hope you all enjoyed it!


Bibliography:

"Ramayana: Hanuman and the Mountain." Public Domain Edition. Website: PDE Indian Epics




Comments

  1. DC, great creativity with this story– the Wizard of Oz is near and dear to my heart, and I'm glad I found a story that integrated it with an Indian Epic! Toto is a great protagonist (of few words), having him stand in for Hanuman is such a novel concept. The picture you chose is also perfect; I have no idea how you found one that matches the story so well!

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  2. Hello, David!
    Your story was so unique, and I loved the melding of Oz and the Ramayana story. Something that really stood out to me was your mention of Hubba Bubba Bubble Tape. This has been my all time favorite gum since I was young and my mom still puts it in my Christmas stocking to this day. The humor throughout your story is really fun and makes for a great read. I look forward to reading more from you!

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