Chapter 4

Trouble

The wall drifted open with a gentle push to reveal a room that only Willy Wonka could have created.

Down a small set of concrete steps, the room was filled with marvelous things. Trees that grew every kind of candy imaginable. Sweet sugar grass and candy mushrooms with whipped cream spots.

What fascinated Charlie and Joelle the most however, was the chocolate waterfall that splashed into a swiftly flowing chocolate river.

Willy Wonka closed the door softly behind them and watched the expressions on their faces. Most of them were greedy, with only thoughts for more etched into their features. But the Buckets, their faces were illuminated with shining adoration.

Ms. Bucket's face held a delight that Wonka had believed to be lost to adults, and he found himself fascinated by the golden color of her eyes for a single moment. It reminded him of the color of the warm caramels he produced here in the factory .

Joelle nearly jumped when Wonka spoke.

"Hold your breath. Make a wish. Count to three."

Then his melodious voice filled the silence with rich vibration.

Come with me
And you'll be
In a world of
Pure imagination
Take a look
And you'll see
Into your imagination

We'll begin
With a spin
Traveling in
The world of my creation
What we'll see
Will defy
Explanation

If you want to view paradise
Simply look around and view it
Anything you want to, do it
Wanta change the world?
There's nothing
To it

There is no
Life I know
To compare with
Pure imagination
Living there
You'll be free
If you truly wish to be

If you want to view paradise
Simply look around and view it
Anything you want to, do it
Wanta change the world?
There's nothing
To it

There is no
Life I know
To compare with
Pure imagination
Living there
You'll be free
If you truly
Wish to be

As he had sung, he had led them down the stairs. Taking two steps forward and one back , until they reached the bottom of the stairs. There he turned and bowed, allowing them in to his world.

They had scattered and wandered through the room, finding their favorite sweets in no time at all.

Joelle let everyone else precede her as she imagined the room during Christmas. In her mind the room was covered with sugarflake snow in many different flavors. A giant mint chocolate tree stood proudly, covered in powdered sugar and shining, crystalline blown candy baubles. Snow-cone snowmen stood colorful in their corner.

"Aunt Jo? What are you thinking about?"

"Christmas. Can't you see the frosting icicles? And the iced cream coating the chocolate river so thick you could skate on it?"

"Iced cream? Don't you mean ice cream?"

"I mean iced cream. Like the kind you get off the top of milk only frozen."

"You think of the most amazing things Aunt Jo."

She chuckled and swiped a fruity candy cane from a nearby tree. Then she prodded Charlie jovially with it.

"Hey!" he yelped and nabbed a cane for himself.

He tried to poke one of her ticklish spots and found his candy tapped easily away. That was the start of an epic candy cane war that travelled halfway across the room.

It continued energetically until Charlie gave his aunts' candy cane a particularly vicious whack and it snapped in two. They looked at each other and broke out into uncontrollable laughter before they consumed their weapons.

"What a disgusting dirty river." Said , as she munched on a sweet.

"It's industrial waste that. You've ruined your watershed Wonka. It's polluted."

"It's chocolate." Corrected Wonka.

"That's chocolate!" exclaimed Veruca.

"That's chocolate." Confirmed Charlie, his eyes shining.

"A chocolate river." Said Violet, smacking her gum in disbelief.

"Ten thousand gallons an hour." Informed Wonka as they gazed at his creation with wide eyes, "And look at my waterfall. That's the most important thing. It's mixing my chocolate. It's actually churning my know no other factory in the world mixes its' chocolate by waterfall. But it's the only way if you want it just right."

"Aunt Jo! Look over there across the river! They're little men!"

The group scrambled for a better look. There were exclamations from everyone and a brief "I want one NOW!" from Veruca as explained about the Oompa Loompas.

Then there was a disgusting slurping noise from the banks of the chocolate river. The group turned to look at Augustus as he crouched by the river, licking at the melted chocolate in his hands like a dog.

"Augustus, sweetheart, save some room for later."

"O-oh! Augustus please! Don't do that!" said ,"My chocolate must never be touched by human hands! Don't do that! You're contaminating my entire river! Please I beg you! Augustus!"

Then Augustus leaned in just a little too far and plopped into the river.

"My chocolate!" yelled Mr. Wonka, dismayed.

"Help!" burbled Augustus, as he flailed helplessly in the chocolate.

"My chocolate! My beautiful chocolate!"

"Don't just stand there! Do something!" shrieked Mrs. Gloop.

"Help. Police. Murder." Said emotionlessly.

"Quick Augustus!" said Charlie, stretching a large lollipop out over the water.

Augustus grabbed at it and his hands slipped instantly off as he was sucked beneath the creamy surface of the river.

"What's happening?"

"It looks like he's drowning."

"Dive in! Save him!" bawled Mrs. Gloop.

Willy Wonka just opened a small box of candy he had retrieved from his coat pocket and followed the trail of bubbles that was Augustus Gloop with his eyes.

"It's too late." He told her

"Too late!"

"He's had it. The suctions got him."

"Augustus! Come back!" screamed his mother, her layers of fat jiggling worriedly, "Where is he?"

"Watch the pipe." Said the calm Wonka as he nibbled on his candy.

"How long is he going to stay down Daddy?" asked Veruca.

"He can't swim!"

"No better time to learn." breathed out Joelle to Charlie as Mr. Wonka said the same thing to the rest of the group.

They watched, the other duos narrating Augustus's journey up the pipe until his stomach got stuck somewhere towards the top.

"There's terrific pressure building up behind the blockage." said Mr. Wonka, his eyes alight.

"I wonder how long it's going to take him to push through," said Mr. Salt, his eyes bugging out of his skull.

"The suspense is terrible," said Mr. Wonka just before he placed another candy in his mouth, "I hope it'll last."

Then, Augustus shot up the pipe, the chocolate rising slowly after him.

"He'll be turned in to marshmallows in five seconds!"

"Impossible my dear lady. That's absurd. Unthinkable."

"Why?"

"Because that pipe doesn't go to the marshmallow room, it goes to the fudge room."

"You terrible man."

Wonka put a small, silver flute to his lips and allowed it to make a twittering noise. The noise summoned an Oompa Loompa.

"Take Mrs. Gloop straight to the fudge room, but look sharp, or her little boy is bound to get poured in the boiler."

"You boiled him up. I know it!"

"Nil desperandum, my dear lady. Across the desert lies the promised land. Goodbye . Adieu! Auf wiedersehen! Gesundheit! Farewell."

The rest of the group jumped when the men on the other side of the river began to sing.

Oompa Loompas:
Oompa Loompa, doompadee doo
We have a perfect puzzle for you
Oompa Loompa, doompadee dee
If you are wise you will listen me

What do you get when you guzzle down sweets?
Eating as much as an elephant eats?
What are you at getting terribly fat?
What do you think will come of that?
I don't like the look of it

Oompa Loompa, doompadee dah
If you're not greedy you will go far
You will live in happiness too
Like the Oompa Loompa doompadee do
Doompadee do

"And that, Charlie," said Joelle, "is why we must be careful of what we eat, but even more careful about how we eat it."