As Dorothy and Jack Pumpkinhead led Theresa to the Emerald City she told them all about the movie of "The Wizard of Oz" which she had grown up loving.
"The movie sounds delightful," said Dorothy. "But to be sure what you grew up loving was a filmmaker's adaption and interpretation of Oz, and actors portraying me and my friends, not actually the real things. And I am sure you will find you love the real Oz and all my friends in it ever so much more than any movie version of it and us."
Just then they reached the Emerald City. It was not built like the tall green skyscrapers Theresa remembered from the movie. It was built like a large palace with dome shaped turrets and spires with flags waving from them. It was also more bright emerald green than she could have ever imagined.
"Here we are," said Dorothy cheerfully as she and Jack escorted her through the gates.
As they walked through the great halls of the palace Theresa looked around at how everything was encrusted with emeralds. She soon found herself squinting in the bright lights from them.
"It's so bright here I should have brought my sunglasses," she remarked.
Dorothy giggled at this. "There was actually a time when everyone here was required by the Wizard to wear spectacles to protect their eyes from the glare. All that changed around the time of the revolution."
"What revolution?" asked Theresa.
"It's a long story since you haven't read Oz history," said Dorothy. "I'll let you read about it for yourself later. But that was the time when Ozma, the rightful ruler of Oz was found and restored to the throne here."
"I've never heard of her," admitted Theresa. "Is she nice?"
"Yes, indeed," said Dorothy. "She is my best friend of anywhere. And she rules over Oz with justice and love so that everyone lives in peace and harmony and no one is ever unhappy."
"Sounds a little too good to be true," said Theresa skeptically.
"But it is," said Dorothy. "I'm sure you will find it so for yourself all in good time."
Just then they came to a large door with an emerald lining and a large emerald encrusted in its center above which was the word Library in gold lined with emeralds. Dorothy slowly pushed the door open.
"Anyway, Ozma is in a grand meeting at the moment," Dorothy continued. "So I'll announce your arrival to her when it's over. And in the meantime you may get yourself familiar with Oz history in the Royal Library."
"Thank you. I appreciate it," said Theresa.
She stepped inside the library and began walking around. It was simply enormous. There were shelves upon shelves layered with books as far as her eyes could see. It seemed as if it would put any library in her own world to shame. She ventured a little further and then stopped abruptly when she found she wasn't alone in the room after all.
Standing in a far corner to the right of her she spotted a very strange looking person. He was about six feet tall and was shaped like an insect in body. He had antennas on his head and one on his nose which was partially hidden by the book he seemed to be deeply immersed in reading. He was wearing a large black mortarboard on his head and large round glasses, and his clothing reminded her of old-fashioned photographs of how scholars of the nineteenth century dressed. She thought he seemed kind of creepy as she approached him slowly.
He seemed to have heard her coming as he looked up slowly from his book. He scowled at her in a way that made her freeze stiff and feel extremely uncomfortable.
"How dare you stare at me like that!" he snapped at her angrily. "Don't be so rude!"
"I – I'm sorry!" she exclaimed taken aback by how raspy his voice was. "It's just I've never seen anything – anyone like you before."
"You mean you don't know who I am?" he snapped again. "I am the Highly Magnified and Thoroughly Educated Professor Wogglebug of the Royal College of Art and Athletic Perfection of Oz!"
"I've never heard of you," she said. "I only knew of Oz from the MGM movie."
He winced and then glared at her in an accusing way. "How unfortunate! You are yet another ignorant visitor from the Great Outside World to us! This is most certainly not what we need at this time!"
She blinked and then glared back at him as she retorted with great indignation, "I assure you I never actually wanted to come here in the first place! I don't even know why I came here. My bicycle just got swept up in storm."
"That is what everyone says," he said dismissively.
She was just about to give him another indignant retort, but then as he glared at her behind his large round spectacles with his bulging black eyes she suddenly glimpsed a vision behind them.
She saw the image of a different Wogglebug behind his eyes. He was dressed very differently in a blue swallowtail coat, a white vest, and yellow knee-breeches. He wasn't wearing glasses or a mortarboard and was standing more straight and was smiling at her in a warm and friendly way. The image astonished her because she sensed it was an image of him from his distant past.
She blinked and then the image was gone and she found herself still staring at the nasty looking countenance of the old and crotchety professor figure of a Wogglebug as before. Somehow she knew, as hard as it was to believe, that he was the same person she had glimpsed behind his eyes just a moment ago. Only somehow that version of him had been replaced by this one. If she could only find out how.
"Why are you looking at me like that!? He snapped in an insulted way which broke her out of her reverie.
"I – I'm – I was just wondering why you seem to be so unhappy for some reason, Professor Wogglebug."
"You would be unhappy if you had just lost a large intellectual property you had spent months putting your heart and soul into!" he exclaimed.
"What do you mean?" she asked confused.
"None of your business!" he almost shouted.
And with that he turned his back on her and stomped off. She watched him go and he seemed to be leaving the library. Just then she heard Dorothy's voice come from behind her.
"You mustn't take that personally," she said. "Professor Wogglebug treats most everyone in that way."
Teresa turned around and saw Dorothy with a girl who looked to be as old her with long auburn hair in ringlets wearing a delicate crown with the Oz emblem across her forehead and poppies at the sides of her head. She was wearing a long white and green gown made of pressed silk. She assumed this had to be Ozma. And beside her was Jack Pumpkinhead and also the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman.
"But why?" asked Teresa.
"I don't know," admitted Dorothy.
"But why does he seem to be so unhappy?" she asked further. "I thought nobody in Oz was unhappy."
"He's the big exception," said the Tin Woodman. "I suspect it's because he feels out of place here what with him thinking he is better than us.
"I think it has to do with how his head was swelled along with the rest of his body when that Professor Nowitall had him highly magnified in his schoolhouse so long ago," remarked the Scarecrow.
"What are you talking about?" asked Teresa.
"It's a story you can read about in Oz history," replied the Scarecrow.
"Welcome to the Land of Oz, Teresa Harnois," said Ozma smiling. "I welcome you here most cordially, and you are hereby welcome to visit any place in any of the four corners of my country you wish."
"Thank you," said Teresa.
"Would you like to visit me at my tin castle in the land of the Winkies?" asked the Tin Woodman excitedly.
"Or me in in my corn mansion?" asked the Scarecrow anxiously.
"Or me in my pumpkin house?" asked Jack Pumpkinhead eagerly.
Teresa looked from one to the other of them and then replied. "No thanks. I'd like to go visit Professor Wogglebug's college."
Everyone looked disappointed at this.
"But why there?" asked Dorothy.
"I have questions that I can only find out about from going there," she replied.
