"We can't thank you enough, Miss Cheeks." Auntie Em said as she and Uncle Henry exited the treedome, carrying their new incubator.

"Aw, shucks, just call me Sandy, Mrs. Gale." said Sandy.

As Dorothy watched Auntie Em and Uncle Henry place the incubator in the back of their truck, a bicycle bell sounded.

"Hey, look! We got another customer!" B.E.N. called out.

Dorothy's eyes widen as she heard that bell.

"Oh, no." she gasped. "It's..."

"GUUUUUULLLLLLLLCH!" shrieked SpongeBob and Patrick, who ran around like crazy while Squidward, Mr. Krabs, Jim and I just stood there, until they rushed us inside the boys' room to hide.

As the kids ran upon hearing the name, Dorothy tried to do the same thing, holding Toto in her arms.

But before she could make it to the gate, Miss Almira Gulch biked past her, towards her uncle and aunt, saying. "I knew I'd find you Gales here."

"What brings all the way from Half Moon Bay*, Miss Gulch?" asked Uncle Henry.

"I want to speak to you two about Dorothy." replied Miss Gulch.

"And what has Dorothy done this time?" asked Auntie Em.

"What's she done?" said Miss Gulch. "I'm all but lame from the bite on my leg."

"You mean she bit ya?" asked Uncle Henry.

"No, her dog!" Miss Gulch said, pointing at Toto.

"Well, what's this have to do with Toto?" asked Uncle Henry.


We peeked out of the boys' room to hear Miss Gulch say. "Listen, Gale, that dog is a menace to the community. I'm taking him to the Sheriff and make sure he's destroyed."

While hearing the conversation themselves, Eliza, Darwin, Spirit and Rain were shocked to hear the word...

"Destroyed?!"

"Oh, you can't! You mustn't!" Dorothy said to Miss Gulch, then, turned to...

"Auntie Em! Uncle Henry! You won't let her, will you?"

"Of course we won't. Will we, Em?" said Uncle Henry.

SpongeBob, Patrick, Squidward, Mr. Krabs, Jim and I snuck out of the boys' room while Dorothy pleaded. "Please, Aunt Em. Toto didn't mean to. He didn't know he was doing anything wrong. I'm the one that ought to be punished. I let him go in her garden. You can send me to bed without supper."

"If you don't hand over that dog, I'll bring a damage suit that'll take your whole farm!" warned Miss Gulch. "There's a law protecting folks against dogs that bite!"

"How would it be if she keeps him tied up?" suggested Auntie Em. "He's really gentle...with gentle people, that is."

"Well, that's for the Sheriff to decide." said Miss Gulch, who pulled out a piece of paper. "Here's his order allowing me to take him. Unless you want to go against the law."

As Auntie Em and Uncle Henry read the order, Miss Gulch felt something on her head.

She picked it up and saw that it was a note that fell on her, then noticed the little falcon perched on one of the play structures.

"Oh, we can't go against the law, Dorothy." Auntie Em said to her niece. "I'm afraid poor Toto will have to go."

"Now you're seeing reason." said Miss Gulch, who held out her basket. "Here's what I'm taking him in so he can't attack me again."

"Oh, no, no! I won't let you take him!" Dorothy cried, swatting the basket away. "You go away or I'll bite you myself!"

"That makes two of us!" fumed Spirit, to whom Eliza protested. "Spirit, no!"

But the horse had already charged at Miss Gulch, braying angrily at her.

Eliza, Darwin and Rain stared in shock. My own friends and I stared in shock too.

"Whoever owns this horse, control that beast!" demanded Miss Gulch. "Or I'll have the Sheriff destroy him as well."

Spirit let a snort, but calmly backed away while glaring at whom Dorothy called. "You wicked old witch!

"Uncle Henry, Auntie Em, don't let her take Toto!" she begged. "Don't let her take him, please!"

But Auntie Em looked away, saying. "Put him in the basket, Henry."

"No!" gasped Patrick. "No! Please, no!"

Once Toto was put in the basket, Miss Gulch strapped it to the back of her bike.

Toto glanced sadly at Eliza before he was clamped shut.

Breathing heavily, Dorothy fled away, crying all the way to the girls' room.

SpongeBob, Patrick, Squidward, Mr. Krabs, Jim and I looked at each other, then turned to hear Auntie Em say. "Almira Gulch, just because you own half the county doesn't mean you have the power to run the rest of us! For twenty-three years, I've been dying to tell you what I thought of you! And now...well, being a Christian woman, I can't say it!"

As she left, Miss Gulch unraveled the note, which read. "Follow the bird to Chalet Ticino."

Miss Gulch looked again at the falcon, which started to take flight with a loud screech.

She took one last glare at Spirit, then biked away from Foster City School.

"We gotta do something." said Eliza.

"But what can we do?" asked Darwin.

"We follow her, that's what." replied Spirit, whom Eliza got on while saying with determination. "Come on, Darwin. We got a dog to save."

"But what if Gulch sees us?" Darwin asked while being pulled up.

"Hey, she can call the Sheriff for all I care." said Spirit. "But I'm not gonna stand here and let that old crone hurt a fellow animal."

He turned to Rain, who backed away cautiously.

Spirit trotted over to her, saying. "Don't worry, Rain. I've gotten out of a few scrapes before. I'll be in and out before she notices."

Rain looked at Spirit, whom she nuzzled. "Please, be careful."

Spirit nodded, then turned to Eliza and Darwin. "Let's ride!"

As I watched them ride past me and my friends, something was telling me...

"We gotta go help." I said.

But before I could catch up, Squidward pulled me back, saying. "Whoa, slow down there, partner. You can't just leave during school hours."

"He's right, you know." said Mr. Krabs.

Morph nodded in agreement.

"But if Eliza** and Spirt are caught," I said. "Who's gonna save them?"

"He raises a strong point." said Jim.

SpongeBob, Patrick, Squidward, and Mr. Krabs looked at each other, then at me, nodding with the same determination on their faces.

"All right, let's go!" said SpongeBob.

Morph transformed into a bugle and blew as Patrick hollered. "TO THE RESCUUUUUUUUUUE!"

But while leading the charge, he gasped, for Amelia got in our way, saying. "Nobody's going AWOL on my watch."

We backed away, only to be blocked by Mr. Arrow, who stood behind us.

"Oh, barnacles." groaned SpongeBob.

"But, Eliza..." I began, but Amelia cut me off, saying. "May be out of reach, yes, but as long as you, Nathan Rosenberg, are inside these grounds, you're not pulling a fast one on me.

"Mr. Arrow, please return these delivery men to Mr. Silver straight away." she instructed. "In the meantime, I shall return this boy to his class."

"But...but...but...but...but..." I stammered as Amelia led me back to Mr. Beckwith's room.

"Nosy catwoman." Patrick grumbled, only to be held back by Mr. Arrow, who moved him and the others along, while saying. "If there's one thing I will not tolerate, Mr. Star, it's a cross word about Amelia Smollett, captain of the RLS Legacy and chief hall monitor of this institution."


Author's Note:

*I know Dorothy Gale and her family lived in Kansas, but, for the sake of "Nathan Rosenberg: 5th Grader," I had to relocate them to Half Moon Bay, which does have a country-esque look, especially when it's by the ocean.

**After seeing Eliza being held captive by Sloan and Bree Blackburn in one of the trailers of "The Wild Thornberrys Movie," I worried that the same thing would happen to her while trying to save Toto from Miss Gulch.

Speaking of which...